A convicted securities fraudster who fled to the U.S. has been sentenced to four years in prison in Alberta.
In July 2020, Ronald James Aitkens was convicted of one count of fraud and of making misleading statements in an offering memorandum in connection with a distribution of real estate securities.
According to the Alberta Securities Commission (ASC), Aitkens raised more than $35 million from almost 1,500 investors between 2005 and 2007, and diverted at least $10.7 million of that money to other projects.
His sentencing on the convictions in 2020 was delayed repeatedly, including because Aitkens underwent knee replacement surgeries. When he was due to be sentenced by the Honourable Justice L.W. Robertson of the Alberta Court of Justice in November 2023, Aitkens failed to appear.
Earlier this month, Aitkens was arrested in Montana and returned to Alberta, where he has now been sentenced to four years in jail.
He received 39 months for the fraud conviction and nine months for the other count. He also remains permanently banned from trading and from acting as an officer or director of an issuer.
The judge declined to order restitution in the case, noting the real estate scheme was inherently risky and that even if there was no fraud, there was a “always a real risk that the project would fail.”
“This sentence clearly demonstrates that those who defraud investors will face consequences for their actions no matter where they try to hide,” said Cynthia Campbell, director of enforcement at the ASC, in a release.
“The ASC is committed to securing appropriate sentences of imprisonment for such offenders and ensuring that fleeing the country will not shield them from accountability,” she added.