COVID-19 means 'con artist and swindler' avoids jail

Convicted fraudster sentenced to house arrest conditions after breaching BCSC life ban

COVID-19 means 'con artist and swindler' avoids jail

A Salmon Arm man has been sentenced to two years of probation, which includes a term of house arrest, after being convicted of breaching an order of the British Columbia Securities Commission (BCSC).

Richard Good was sentenced on May 5 in B.C. Provincial Court in Salmon Arm for engaging in investor relations activities despite being permanently banned by the BCSC in 2007 from doing so. The 2007 order stemmed from a $2.4 million investment scheme that Good orchestrated, where he entered into various investment contracts with promises of generating high returns. Good invested only a fraction of the money he raised, using the rest for personal expenses and to return purported interest and capital investments to some investors.

Following an investigation by the BCSC's Criminal Investigations Branch, Good was charged in 2019 with breaching the BCSC order and was convicted in March 2020.

In convicting Good, the provincial court judge found he breached the order when he enticed a woman living with Good's best friend and brother-in-law to invest her money through him in 2013 and 2014. Good promised to use the money to invest in securities and to provide her with a profitable return. However, most of the funds went to Good's personal expenses, with only a small portion invested.

The judge concluded that "the breach was deliberate and premeditated", adding, "in 2007, Mr. Good was exposed as a swindler and con artist. By that time, lying was a way of life for him and there is no indication that he has changed."

The judge stated that due to the circumstances of the COVID-19 pandemic a suspended sentence and probation order, with terms similar to house arrest, would be more appropriate than a jail term.  

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