Canadian financial fraud victims band together

A new national organization that will advocate for Canadian victims of white-collar crime is set to rise from the ashes of thousands of small fortunes lost to fraudsters in recent years.

The group is being launched by children of the alleged victims of Earl Jones. The disgraced financial adviseris facing fraud and theft charges for allegedly bilking as much as $50 million from nearly 150 former clients. Quebec's securities regulator has described Jones's operation as a Ponzi scheme, one of several to make headlines in North America this year.

The victims' rights organization is inspired by similar groups founded in the wake of the financial scandal involving Bernie Madoff in the U.S.

It will lobby governments for tougher penalties, push for one national stock-market regulator, provide emotional support and raise money for a victims' fund.

The still-unnamed group will have its coming-out party next month in Ottawa, in a march on Parliament Hill.

Great need in Canada for fraud victim advocacy

Joey Davis, who will lead the organization, says there's a void in the country when it comes to helping the victims of financial fraudsters.

"I'm getting calls everyday, people coming out of the woodwork who for five, 10, 20 years have been caught in some sort of financial crime in Canada and have had no voice other than try to go through the courts or police system," said Davis, who saw his mother's savings wiped out in the Jones affair.

"We looked for help, we looked for relief and there is nothing, no organization in Quebec or in Canada that advocates specifically for white-collar crime."

Davis said the coalition of victims will lobby governments for tougher penalties, including stiffer prison sentences and push for a single stock-market regulator.

Victims can talk it outonline

The idea of a national securities regulator is popular with the federal government and many businesses but faces stiff resistance from some provincial politicians particularly in Quebec.

'No one wants to tell their story. People are embarrassed, there's a stigma attached to being a victim of this kind of crime.' Janet Watson, a white-collar crime victim

The Charest government has asked the province's court of appeal to look at whether the federal plan is constitutional.

Davis said the group will also have an online presence that will allow victims to interact on a website and remind them that they're not alone.

Janet Watson, of Sherbrooke, Que., who lost her retirement savings when Quebec's securities regulator shut down an investment company called Mount Real in 2005, says the ability to communicate between victims is important.

"I've been trying to get people to talk about it for four years but the problem is no one wants to tell their story," said Watson, who has started a Canada-wide registry for victims of fraud and identity theft.

"People are embarrassed, there's a stigma attached to being a victim of this kind of crime.

"A lot of people haven't told their families, they're ashamed and they shouldn't be," she said.

In the multibillion-dollar Madoff fraud, Davis said, many victims have found solace in being able to discuss their situation with other victims.

"What we're looking to do is form a coalition of citizens against white-collar crime, we're extending the membership across Canada to every citizen," Davis said.

"It's similar to what they did in the states with Bernie Madoff victims. We want to do that for all Canadians."

New group hopes to build relief fund for victims

The organization will also have a fundraising arm which will help create a relief fund for the alleged Jones victims by helping them pay for necessities such as food, rent and utilities.

Such a fund would later be used to help other victims of fraud, Davis said.

The new organization plans a Sept. 26 march on Parliament Hill.

But government lobbying has begun in earnest: the group has already met with Conservative cabinet minister Christian Paradis, and will meet on Tuesday with NDP Leader Jack Layton in Ottawa.

Further meetings are in the works with other party leaders.

During a recent stop in Montreal, Layton said he's ready to help the organization any way he can.

"We need action by the government to put into the Criminal Code the kind of offences that will then allow us to find people guilty," Layton said.

"Even our systems of policing these sorts of things are full of contradictions."