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Michael Ritter Scandal Rob Nicholson

remember michael ritter?


He’s back.

Former Legal Counsel to the Legislative Assembly of Alberta Michael Ritter has been released from prison after serving 18 months of a 10 year sentence at a minimum security prison in Grande Cache, Alberta. Three years ago, Ritter pleaded guilty to stealing $10.5 million from one client (who had stolen $43 million from Merrill Lynch) in a deal to avoid extradition to the United States for helping another client revive a $270 million Ponzi scheme that victimized more than 6,500 American investors.

The 6,500 American investors may be interested in reading a recent Globe & Mail feature to learn that Ritter has returned to his lavish home in Edmonton, and according to his Facebook status has:

“finally got his Jaguar running again after not driving it for over three years!”

Federal Justice Minister Rob Nicholson recently announced his intentions to introduce legislation to help combat white-collar crime.

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Michael Ritter Scandal

very bad men "the man without a conscience" – tonight.

And no, I don’t mean Ed Stelmach or Snidely Whiplash, I’m talking about Michael Ritter. Tonight, Episode 12: The Man Without a Conscience of the documentary series “Very Bad Men” airs tonight at 10pm Alberta time on Global TV.

If you’re not familiar with the story, former Edmonton “lawyer,” Chief Parliamentary Consel to the Alberta Legislative Assembly, business owner, philanthropist, and international man of financial scandal Michael Ritter was charged and convicted as part of a $200 million dollar international ponzi scheme. This is a made for TV scandal that includes everything from investigations by the U.S. Department of Justice to fake Belizean passports. As the documentary puts it:

The high-flying entrepreneur who loved the limelight and adulation from the public was finally convicted on two counts of massive fraud and sentenced to 10 years in prison.

Read more on the Michael Ritter scandal here.

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Michael Ritter Scandal

ritter loses appeal.

It’s been a while since we’ve heard from Michael Ritter… from today’s Edmonton Journal…

RITTER LOSES APPEAL OF BAIL BREACH CONVICTION

EDMONTON – Edmonton businessman Michael Ritter has lost an appeal to have his conviction dismissed for breaching bail by applying for a Belizean passport under a false name.

The 50-year-old former chief legal adviser to the Alberta legislature was sentenced in August 2006 to six months for the bail breach.

He had earlier been sentenced to 10 years for his part in a $270-million US fraud scheme that bilked more than 6,500 investors.

Last month, Ritter’s lawyer argued in the Alberta Court of Appeal that the judge who convicted Ritter for the bail breach made a mistake in his analysis of the intent required.

The Crown argued Ritter knowingly applied for a passport under a false name while he was on bail knowing he had been ordered not to.

The passport would have allowed Ritter to flee Canada and avoid possible extradition to the United States on fraud and money-laundering charges.

Alberta’s high court ruled Monday the trial judge was correct in assessing the evidence and that Ritter “had knowingly and intentionally” applied for a passport under a false name.

Read more about the Michael Ritter Scandal.

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Michael Ritter Scandal

michael ritter scandal documentary.

The real story of the Michael Ritter scandal will finally be told on in a TV documentary. A documentary team has put together a 1 hour episode on Ritter and will be airing November 28th.

The documentary team culled through all of the court documents, did their own independent research and invited everyone who was involved to participate. To no one’s surprise Michael Ritter and his cronies turned down the opportunity.

Here is a preview and the schedule for the documentary. The episode will also be airing on the Women’s Network in the USA and the Discovery Channel in the UK and internationally.

Here’s the synopsis:

EPISODE 12: The Man Without a Conscience

SYNOPSIS
When Paul Hoag and his wife Susan Edwards met businessman and philanthropist Michael Ritter they were impressed with his high-flying resume, and over the course of five years the three became firm friends. So when Ritter offered Paul the job as second-in-command at his new and apparently successful company across the country, he and Susan couldn’t say no to what seemed like a golden opportunity, despite the fact that it meant leaving their family behind.

Things seemed to be going well and Paul as well as Susan, who was now the office manager, enjoyed the work with their friend in his grand new venture. But after a time, Susan became concerned that one of Ritter’s business partners was scamming him and she and Paul began to collect evidence to convince Ritter that he was being duped. However the tables were turned when it became clear that Ritter was in fact not only heavily involved in fraudulent activities himself, but his resume turned out to be founded on lies.

Ritter was just a conman whose trusted employees blew the whistle on his pyramid scheme, but not before Ritter had bilked more than $200 million dollars from unsuspecting investors and turned his back on his closest friends, leading them into bankruptcy.

The high-flying entrepreneur who loved the limelight and adulation from the public was finally convicted on two counts of massive fraud and sentenced to 10 years in prison.

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Michael Ritter Scandal

michael ritter gets ten.

This speaks for itself. Michael Ritter has be sentenced…

RITTER GETS 10 YEARS
By TONY BLAIS, COURT BUREAU

Disgraced Edmonton businessman Michael Ritter admitted full responsibility for his multimillion-dollar crimes in a farewell speech en route to prison yesterday.

Ritter, 49, was handed a 10-year sentence by provincial court Judge Elizabeth Johnson, who accepted a joint submission recommended last week by Crown and defence.

Ritter thanked the lawyers involved as well as his family and friends and said he was deeply sorry for his actions.

“I do indeed have a conscience and I do carry an enormous amount of guilt which I cannot fathom will ever go away,” said Ritter. “There’s no question I feel deeply embarrassed and humiliated.”

The judge acknowledged Ritter’s loss of reputation in Edmonton, where he was known as a generous patron of the arts, but said he was “the author of his own misfortune.”

and…

Ritter’s one-man show is over. Prison awaits – by Paula Simons at the Edmonton Journal
Former government adviser jailed 10 years for pyramid scheme – Globe & Mail
Canadian Tied to Merrill Fraud Gets 10-Year Sentence – Bloomberg
Edmonton man gets 10 years in massive scam – Canada.com

Click here for the complete Michael Ritter Scandal Chronology.

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Michael Ritter Scandal

where ritter put the money.

The Edmonton Journal has a good run-down of Michael Ritter‘s background here titled “A free fall from grace.” Interestingly, the article includes a brief list of where some of Ritter’s stolen money went…

TRACKING THE MONEY
Michael Ritter stole $10.5 million US from Wall Street energy trader Dan Gordon, some of which he admits giving to various people and organizations. There is no evidence any of them knew they were receiving stolen money. Alberta Justice says it will not try to recover the money. Here’s where some of the money went, according to an agreed statement of facts:

– $400,000 — Paul Hoag, vice-president of Newport Pacific, Ritter’s Edmonton-based financial services company
– $92,000 — Newport Pacific
– $54,000 — Lawyer Jeff Rath of Priddis
– $50,000 — Metamorphosis Concert Society of Edmonton, the orchestra founded by former Edmonton Symphony Orchestra director Grzegorz Nowak
– $15,000 — Pro Coro Canada, an Edmonton choral group
– $10,000 — Leslie Green, one of Ritter’s former University of Alberta professors and an associate of Newport
– $10,000 — Banff Calgary International Writers Festival
– $5,000 — Jeremy Carter, Ritter’s former executive assistant
– $5,000 — Juanita Amore, a former Newport lawyer

Check out the complete Michael Ritter Scandal Chronology.

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Michael Ritter Scandal

ritter pleads guilty.

Michael Ritter has pleaded guilty…

Edmonton businessman pleads guilty to stealing $10.5 million
Charles Rusnell, Edmonton Journal
Published: Friday, October 27, 2006
High-profile Edmonton businessman Michael Ritter has pleaded guilty to stealing US $10.5 million and perpetuating a massive fraud scheme in the United States.

Crown and defence lawyers recommended a sentence of 10 years in prison. Judge Elizabeth Johnson of provincial court reserved her decision until Tuesday.

Ritter, Alberta’s former chief parliamentary counsel, pleaded guilty to the charges this morning.

In a 19-page statement of facts entered into provincial court as part of his plea bargain, Ritter admitted he stole US $10.5 million of the $43 million embezzled by a Wall Street energy trader and unwittingly laundered by Newport Pacific Financial Group, Ritter’s financial services company.

Ritter also admitted his role in willfully perpetuating a massive US $270-million fraud scheme that bilked more than 6,500 American investors from its base in Los Angeles.

In return for his guilty pleas, Ritter, 49, evaded extradition to California, where he faced a lengthy list of charges related to the massive fraud scheme.

On a more political note, I found this interesting:

Ritter’s lawyer, Robbie Davidson, tendered 40 character reference letters from such people as former legislature Speaker David Carter and New Democrat MLA Ray Martin.

There is also more Michael Ritter coverage from around the news-world:
Globe & Mail – Alberta man pleads guilty to pair of money scams
Vancover Sun – Edmonton Businessman pleads guilty to international fraud
Edmonton Journal – The man who wasn’t real

Check out the complete MICHAEL RITTER SCANDAL CHRONOLOGY.

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Michael Ritter Scandal

one week left for ritter.

As I mentioned in my previous post, it seems like it’s been a while since we’ve all heard from our good friend Michael Ritter. But as I was pleased to discover this morning, Michael Ritter is today gracing the pages of the Edmonton Sun

Accused multi-million dollar fraudster to learn fate next
week

By TONY BLAIS, COURT BUREAU

Michael Ritter – a high-profile Edmonton businessman and Alberta’s former chief parliamentary counsel – is slated to be sentenced next week, court heard yesterday.

However, it won’t be known until Friday what exactly the 49-year-old financier is going to plead guilty to.

Defence lawyer Robbie Davidson appeared in provincial court on behalf of Ritter, who is in custody at the Fort Saskatchewan correctional facility, and the matter was set over for sentencing to Friday, Oct. 27. Read the rest!


Check out the entire Michael Ritter Scandal Chronology!

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Michael Ritter Scandal

jim dinning is not a lawyer.

I’m really interested in going to a Ted Morton Alberta PC leadership event before the masses of Tories place their final judgment on the Group of Six + Jim Dinning.

Does anyone know of an Edmonton event Morton will be at in the near future? I’m busy this Sunday, so it will preferably have to be during the week.

Also, kudos to Ken for this humdinger:

What if the latest Dinning Dunning Myth Buster was:
Jim Dinning is not a lawyer – neither is Michael Ritter.”

Speaking of our friend Mr. Ritter… it’s been quite quiet on that front lately…

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Michael Ritter Scandal

ritter gets six.

It’s getting to the point where I should really think about renaming daveberta to ritterberta or something like that…

From the front page of today’s Edmonton Journal

Ponzi suspect plotted escape
Judge: Ex-Alta. official jailed for hiding passport

Charles Rusnell

EDMONTON – Michael Ritter, Alberta’s former chief parliamentary counsel, was sentenced to six months in prison Wednesday after he was found guilty of breach of recognizance in what the judge called a “craftily planned” attempt to evade the potential consequences of serious criminal charges.

Provincial court Judge Bruce Fraser said Ritter employed “deceit and subterfuge” when he wilfully ignored his bail conditions by failing to surrender a Belizean passport in his name and then obtaining a second Belizean passport under an alias.

“Although the offence itself was not the most serious, the manner in which it was committed is,” Fraser said. “The breach was to put himself in a position to avoid the proper administration of justice not just in this country, but in the United States.”

The charge against Ritter stems from October 2003, when a judge presiding over a bail hearing ordered him to surrender all his passports and not apply for any others. Read the rest…

See the entire Michael Ritter Scandal Chronology.

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Michael Ritter Scandal

ritter guilty of passport charge.

Michael Ritter has been found guity of breaching a court-ordered recognizance that barred him from obtaining a passport while awaiting trial on charges of international fraud… from the Edmonton Journal

The judge in the case ruled today he knowingly tried to obtain a passport to leave Canada to avoid prosecution on a string of fraud and related charges in connection with an international investment scheme and money-laundering charges.

Ritter, the former chief parliamentary counsel at the Alberta legislature, is accused of trying to change his name to obtain a Belizean passport.

The alleged breach of recognizance happened while he was out on bail, which has since been revoked. He is in custody while awaiting trial on charges of fraud, money-laundering and obstruction of justice.

He has been indicted in the United States for his allege role in a $250-million “Ponzi” scheme, in which people from the United States were enticed to invest their money on the promise of returns that didn’t exist. In such a scheme, money from later investors is used to pay earlier ones, creating the appearance that it is producing profitable returns for investors. But eventually it collapses because there isn’t enough money to pay off all investors.

He also faces several charges in Canada related to his alleged role in laundering $43 million US, stolen from a brokerage firm by a Wall Street trader. Read the rest…

See the entire Michael Ritter Scandal Chronology.

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Michael Ritter Scandal

fate on a passport…


Ritter to learn fate on passport charge

Edmonton businessman Michael Ritter may find out today if he is guilty of breaching a court-ordered recognizance barring him from obtaining another passport while awaiting trial on international fraud charges.

Ritter, the former chief parliamentary counsel at the Alberta legislature, is accused of trying to change his name to obtain a Belizean passport.

The alleged breach of recognizance happened while he was out on bail, which has since been revoked. He is in custody while awaiting trial on charges of fraud, money-laundering and obstruction of justice. Read the rest here…

(Picture: the infamous Adam Michael Phillippe d’Orleans passport…)

(Read the entire Michael Ritter Scandal Chronology)

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Michael Ritter Scandal

clear as mud.

This one really slipped by me, and obviously the newspapers, too….

The “background” section of this ruling has a decent history of the confusing path of Michael Ritter‘s extradition proceedings.

In short, in October 2003, Ritter was arrested under a “provisional arrest warrant” which is a procedure allowable under the Extradition Act. In granting bail, the Court of Queen’s Bench Justice Lewis allowed Ritter to go on the basis of recognizance.

You will then recall that sometime last year Ritter allegedly applied for a Belizean passport, in contravention of a court order ordering him to surrender all of his passports and not to apply for any others. In February 2006, Ritter along with his lawyer were charged in connection with this passport application; Ritter was specifically charged with “breach of recognizance.”

In the extradition case, Ritter then asked Justice Joanne Veit to declare that the recognizance he originally gave in October 2003 to be voided because of the January 2004 “Authority to Proceed” with extradition issued by the Minister of Justice.

An interpretation of this could be that Ritter wanted this declaration in order to say that since the recognizance he gave was null and void, he did not “breach” recognizance – thus beating the February 2006 charges.

In this ruling, Justice Veit cuts through the procedural mumbo-jumbo to basically say that Ritter’s word he gave in October 2003 to the Court of Queen’s Bench would hold. The effect is to allow the February 2006 charges to continue against him.

Clear as mud?

(See the entire Michael Ritter Scandal Chronology…)

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Michael Ritter Scandal

ritter fails "to establish an air of reality."

More movement on the Michael Ritter front as Court of Queen’s Bench Justice Joanne Veit wrote in her decision of last week that the court should not routinely interfere with a ministerial order to allow extradition proceedings to go ahead.

The best quote from Madame Justice Veit’s decision can be found in Paragraph 5 of the ruling where she says that:

unless Mr. Ritter is able to establish an air of reality to an alleged Charter breach or demonstrate that the Minister’s decision is deeply flawed from the perspective of natural justice, his rights of disclosure are limited to the actual extradition issues…”

Here’s the full story from the Edmonton Journal

Ritter loses key decision in extradition battle
Judge denies request for gov’t correspondence
Bill Mah, The Edmonton Journal
Published: Monday, July 31, 2006

EDMONTON – An Edmonton businessman and former legislative legal adviser fighting extradition to the United States to face criminal charges involving a $250-million US pyramid scheme has suffered a legal setback.

An Alberta judge is denying Michael Ritter’s request to order the federal justice minister to turn over correspondence between the ministry and provincial and federal prosecutors.

Ritter and his lawyer want to see documents relating specifically to the government’s decision to allow U.S. extradition proceedings to continue after charges against Ritter were laid in Canada.

The former Alberta chief parliamentary counsel wanted the court to stay the extradition process or strike the minister’s decision to proceed if the federal government refused to disclose the documents. He argued it was “unjust and oppressive” to defend himself against fraud and theft charges in Canada while at the same time defending against extradition proceedings, all while in custody.

Court of Queen’s Bench Justice Joanne Veit wrote in her decision of last week that the court should not routinely interfere with a ministerial order to allow extradition proceedings to go ahead.

“On its face, there is nothing irrational or unjust in the minister’s decision to confirm the authority to proceed,” Veit wrote, referring to the federal minister’s approval for the extradition process to go ahead.

The minister’s approval was issued in January 2004. She went on to write that there is no link in law between Ritter’s domestic and U.S., charges.

The United States is trying to extradite Ritter to California to face criminal charges laid in October 2003 for money laundering, obstruction of justice and fraud in a case allegedly involving a $250-million US pyramid scheme in which money from later investors is used to pay earlier ones. Ritter has strongly denied any wrongdoing and is fighting extradition.

Check out the entire Michael Ritter Scandal Chronology.

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Michael Ritter Scandal

more michael ritter scandal action.

This June 19 Provincial Court of Alberta decision managed to slip by me.

As some of you know, the Provincial Court deals with most criminal matters, leaving things like fraud and extradition to the Court of Queen’s Bench of Alberta.

In this case, former Parliamentary Counsel for the Alberta Legislature Michael Ritter asked the Provincial Court to find that his constitutional rights, namely section 8 of the Charter which protects against unreasonable search and seizure, and also section 7 which guarantees the right to life, liberty and security of the person. The event in question was the police seizing his computer, which led to the discovery that he had applied for a Belizean passport under a false name, in contravention of a previous court order.

The judge in his case decided his rights had not been breached, and that all evidence as a result of the computer seizure is admissible as evidence in an eventual trial.

Other interesting parts of the June 19 decision:
-Paragraph 30: the judge noted that Ritter’s company (although he claims not to own the company) Newport has “failed.”
-Paragraph 36: the judge notes that Ritter is “not a lawyer.”

Happy reading!

Check here for the entire Michael Ritter Scandal Chronology