James Norbert Hester, 68, was sentenced to a three-year prison term Monday after Justice Peter McIntyre rejected a defence request that he not be jailed for what McIntyre called a "complex, sophisticated and deliberate" Ponzi scheme
James Norbert Hester, 68, was sentenced to a three-year prison term Monday after Justice Peter McIntyre rejected a defence request that he not be jailed for what McIntyre called a "complex, sophisticated and deliberate" Ponzi scheme.
Citing his client's chronic illnesses, including aortic aneurisym and bad back that forces him to use two canes, defence lawyer Noble Shanks argued for a sentence of less than two years to be served under house arrest.
McIntyre said he was satisfied Hester would receive proper medical treatment behind bars.
Hester had pleaded guilty last year to one count of fraud over $5,000 relating to the scam that occurred between July 2003 and May 2004.
"The nature and quality of his representation to investors was cynical and calculating, to benefit schools and children, over a long period of time," said McIntyre. "He used three different bank accounts, showing sophistication."
Earlier, Crown prosecutor Peter Mackenzie argued for three to five years for Hester, an American citizen and Vietnam war veteran, citing a similar conviction in Texas in 1990 in which he bilked investors out of $414,000 and was jailed for 15 months.
In this case, said Mackenzie, Hester told investors his Team Education program would bring them substiantially large returns in a short period of time.
He said Hester personally benefitted from $165,000 of the money, while some early investors got their money back under the scam to keep in going.
Stuart Bayne, who attended the sentencing hearing, said Hester took him for $5,000 in a similar scam in the mid-70s, before bolting to Toronto. But, he added, Hester was never charged.
"I would have liked to see him get five years," said Bayne. "He's been doing this for some time and took quite a few people besides myelf . . . If he gets out he'll start again."
McIntyre did not order restitition and told court there was no evidence on what Hester had used the illicit money.
Investors lost between $500 and $100,000 each after placing their trust in Hester's Team Education scam.
The accused's wife, former school trustee Sharon Hester, was originally charged in the scheme, but her charges were subsequently withdrawn.
dslade@theherald.canwest.com
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