Fugitive Calgary fraudster arrested in the U.S., returned to Canada

August 12, 2024 Canuck

A Calgary fraudster who was on the lam after fleeing the country last year to avoid being sent to jail was arrested in the U.S. and is back in Canada, CBC News has learned.

Ron Aitkens, 68, was convicted of two offences under the Alberta Securities Act in July 2020. Warrants were issued for his arrest after he failed to show up in court for sentencing.

Prosecutor Yasifina Somji told the judge that on Nov. 6, the day he was to be sentenced, Aitkens crossed border into Montana.

CBC News received a tip that Aitkens had been arrested in the United States and is now back in Canada — confirmed by a spokesperson for the Alberta Securities Commission (ASC).

The ASC said it would provide more details in a press release on Monday.

Aitkens was facing up to five years in prison, although his lawyer had proposed a two-year conditional sentence. If the judge agreed to that, the offender would be able to serve his time at home.

When Aitkens failed to show up at court, defence lawyer Brian Beresh asked to be removed as counsel of record.

Decade-long process

Aitkens was first charged in September 2013.

A failed Charter application, the accused’s health issues and changes in counsel led to the decade-long delay in the case making its way through the courts.

Aitkens distributed and sold securities in a real estate investment company called Legacy Communities.

He raised more than $35 million from about 1,400 investors, some of whom spent their retirement savings, Justice Lloyd Robertson found in his conviction decision.

The Legacy project involved a parcel of real estate on Calgary’s western boundary totalling about 503 acres (203 hectares). Investors were told that land would be purchased and developed for the project.

But Aitkens diverted more than $10 million of investors’ money to private companies he owned.

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