Ontario Bond Scandal

Last updated

The Ontario Bond Scandal was a criminal case that was brought against the former Ontario provincial treasurer, Peter Smith and Smith's associates in 1924 and 1925. [1]

Ontario had been governed by the United Farmers of Ontario (UFO) political party, led by Ontario Premier Ernest C. Drury since 1919. In 1920, when Peter Smith was the Ontario Treasurer, the United Farmers leadership contracted with Aemilius Jarvis to acquire and retire three series of previously issued Succession Duty free bonds. The United Farmers lost their control of the provincial government in 1923, when a new Conservative government, led by Howard Ferguson, was elected a year later.

Four years later in 1924, after the United Farmers government had fallen, prosecutors under the new provincial government alleged that former Treasurer Smith and financier Jarvis had conspired with Andrew Harvey ("A.H.") Pepall, Smith's friend and the government's agent for the deal, to inflate the price paid for the bonds and to split the excess profit. An official inquiry discovered that the Jarvis firm had earned some £130,000(equivalent to £7,552,181 in 2021) pounds in profit from the arrangement. A very large portion of the profit had gone to Pepall as a commission, and a portion of Pepall's commission had been deposited into Smith's bank account. Criminal charges of theft, fraud and conspiracy to defraud were brought against Smith and Jarvis. A.H. Pepall who was then living in California, was not charged, but his brother Harry, and Jarvis's son both of whom worked at the Jarvis firm, were criminally charged.

The only hint of any impropriety before this had arisen in 1922, when a legislative committee had questioned why A.H. Pepall, a close friend of Smith, had been paid the then large sum of $C80 per day for the trip, in which he seemed to have done little actual work.

In October 1924 Smith, Jarvis, his son, and Harry Pepall went on trial. The verdicts were handed down on October 24, 1924. All four were found not guilty of theft and fraud. Harry Pepall and the younger Jarvis were also found not guilty of conspiracy. But, in an illogical twist, the elder Jarvis and Smith were found guilty of conspiracy to defraud the government. Jarvis was sentenced to six months in prison, and Smith received three years. [2] They were each joint and severally liable to pay a fine of CA$600,000(equivalent to $9,440,000 in 2021), then the largest fines ever imposed in the British Empire. The fines were reduced on appeal and each was made separately liable for their portion.

The next year Andrew Pepall, who was living in California, was extradited. At that time conspiracy was not an extraditable offence, so he could only be brought back to Canada to face charges of theft and receiving the proceeds of a criminal conspiracy. He was found not guilty of these in late 1925.[ citation needed ]

Aemilius Jarvis -a prominent businessman and sports figure- was convicted on the charge of conspiracy, despite the fact that he had saved the provincial government millions of dollars in the retirement of the Succession Duty free bonds. Released from jail in six months, he spent the remainder of his life protesting his innocence [3] which was proven when he took the stand, in the trial of Andrew Pepall. Jarvis was cleared in the eyes of the public, although his conviction was never overturned, nor was a pardon granted by the courts [4] The Premier of Ontario (from 1919 to 1923), Ernest C. Drury, labelled Jarvis "Canada's Dreyfus," a reference to Alfred Dreyfus (who had been wrongfully charged and jailed in his native France for blatantly political reasons) and the Government of Canada would later be petitioned, unsuccessfully, to pardon Jarvis. [5]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Forgery</span> Process of making, adapting, or imitating objects to deceive

Forgery is a white-collar crime that generally refers to the false making or material alteration of a legal instrument with the specific intent to defraud. Tampering with a certain legal instrument may be forbidden by law in some jurisdictions but such an offense is not related to forgery unless the tampered legal instrument was actually used in the course of the crime to defraud another person or entity. Copies, studio replicas, and reproductions are not considered forgeries, though they may later become forgeries through knowing and willful misrepresentations.

Sedition is overt conduct, such as speech or organization, that tends toward rebellion against the established order. Sedition often includes subversion of a constitution and incitement of discontent toward, or insurrection against, established authority. Sedition may include any commotion, though not aimed at direct and open violence against the laws. Seditious words in writing are seditious libel. A seditionist is one who engages in or promotes the interest of sedition.

The United Farmers of Ontario (UFO) was an agrarian and populist provincial political party in Ontario, Canada. It was the Ontario provincial branch of the United Farmers movement of the early part of the 20th century.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ernest Charles Drury</span> Premier of Ontario

Ernest Charles Drury was a farmer, politician and writer who served as the eighth premier of Ontario, from 1919 to 1923 as the head of a United Farmers of Ontario–Labour coalition government.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Theft Act 1968</span> United Kingdom legislation

The Theft Act 1968 is an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It creates a number of offences against property in England and Wales.

The Original Whizzinator is a product advertised as a "wet sex simulator" intended to promote simulated male urination as a safer alternative to using real urine for sexual fetish activity ⁠— but most consumers purchase the device to fraudulently defeat drug tests. The Whizzinator comes as a kit complete with dried urine and syringe, heater packs, a false penis and instruction manual. It was manufactured by Puck Technology of Signal Hill, California, a suburb of Los Angeles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aemilius Jarvis</span> Canadian financier, equestrian, and sailor

Edward Aemilius Jarvis was a Canadian financier, equestrian, and sailor. Jarvis was instrumental in forming the Royal Canadian Navy during World War I, recruiting both ships and men. Jarvis was notable in Toronto business circles and helped build the King Edward Hotel and Arena Gardens. He was convicted of conspiracy in the Ontario Bond Scandal of 1922, and never cleared of the conviction although his pardon was petitioned several times. He was fined CA$600,000 and served several months in jail. He remained a prominent figure in Toronto sailing and business circles until his death in 1940.

Peter Smith was a Canadian politician. He served as a Member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario for Perth South from 1919 to 1923 representing the United Farmers of Ontario.

"Dine and dash" is a popular American phrase for the illegal act of "defrauding an innkeeper” or failing to pay for services with the intent to defraud the owner of a hotel, restaurant, campground, or any other establishment that serves food and/or beverages. In the US, to dine and dash is a form of theft, typically in which a patron or patrons order and consume food and/or beverages from a restaurant or similar establishment with the intent not to pay. The act usually involves the client placing an order for a meal, consuming the meal, and then exiting the establishment before or after being presented with the bill.

The presidency of Ronald Reagan was marked by numerous scandals, resulting in the investigation, indictment or conviction of over 138 administration officials, the largest number for any president of the United States.

The Federation Against Copyright Theft (FACT) is a British organisation established in 1983 to protect and represent the interests of its members' intellectual property (IP). FACT also investigates fraud and cybercrime, and provides global due diligence services to support citizenship investment and trade, business, financial and legal compliance.

Conspiracy to defraud is an offence under the common law of England and Wales and Northern Ireland.

The 15th Legislative Assembly of Ontario was in session from October 20, 1919, until May 10, 1923, just prior to the 1923 general election. The leading party in the chamber after the election was the United Farmers of Ontario. It formed a coalition government with 11 Labour MLAs and three Independent candidates of varying stripes.

Laws regarding "unauthorized access of a computer network" exist in many legal codes, though the wording and meaning differs from one to the next. However, the interpretation of terms like "access" and "authorization" is not clear, and there is no general agreement on whether piggybacking falls under this classification. Some jurisdictions prohibit it, some permit it, and others are not well-defined.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Honest services fraud</span> Crime in the United States

Honest services fraud is a crime defined in 18 U.S.C. § 1346, added by the United States Congress in 1988, which states "For the purposes of this chapter, the term scheme or artifice to defraud includes a scheme or artifice to deprive another of the intangible right of honest services."

In English criminal law, an inchoate offence is an offence relating to a criminal act which has not, or not yet, been committed. The main inchoate offences are attempting to commit; encouraging or assisting crime; and conspiring to commit. Attempts, governed by the Criminal Attempts Act 1981, are defined as situations where an individual who intends to commit an offence does an act which is "more than merely preparatory" in the offence's commission. Traditionally this definition has caused problems, with no firm rule on what constitutes a "more than merely preparatory" act, but broad judicial statements give some guidance. Incitement, on the other hand, is an offence under the common law, and covers situations where an individual encourages another person to engage in activities which will result in a criminal act taking place, and intends for this act to occur. As a criminal activity, incitement had a particularly broad remit, covering "a suggestion, proposal, request, exhortation, gesture, argument, persuasion, inducement, goading or the arousal of cupidity". Incitement was abolished by the Serious Crime Act 2007, but continues in other offences and as the basis of the new offence of "encouraging or assisting" the commission of a crime.

<i>United States v. LaMacchia</i>

United States v. LaMacchia 871 F.Supp. 535 was a case decided by the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts which ruled that, under the copyright and cybercrime laws effective at the time, committing copyright infringement for non-commercial motives could not be prosecuted under criminal copyright law.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">UBS tax evasion controversies</span> Tax evasion by Swiss bank UBS

The Swiss investment bank and financial services company, UBS Group AG, has been at the center of numerous tax evasion and avoidance investigations undertaken by U.S., French, German, Israeli, and Belgian tax authorities as a consequence of their strict banking secrecy practices.

Conspiracy against the United States, or conspiracy to defraud the United States, is a federal offense in the United States of America under 18 U.S.C. § 371. The statute originated under a federal law enacted in 1867 that was codified in the Revised Statutes of the United States in 1874, in a subsequent codification of federal penal statutes in 1909, and ultimately in the United States Code in 1948. The crime is that of two or more persons who conspire to commit an offense against the United States, or to defraud the United States.

References

  1. ↑ Kyer, C Ian (2023). The Ontario Bond Scandal of 1924 Re-Examined. Toronto: Irwin Law. p. 293. ISBN   978-1-55221-699-6.
  2. ↑ "PETER SMITH AND AEMILIUS JARVIS SR. CONVICTED: ERSTWHILE MINISTER OF THE CROWN AND HEAD OF BIG FINANCIAL HOUSE ARE SENTENCED AND FINED $600,000". The Globe. October 25, 1924. p. 1.
  3. ↑ Jarvis, Robert Aemilius (2004). The Last Viking.
  4. ↑ "7 Jul 1933, p. 4: The Era: Newmarket's Digital Newspaper Project". Newmarket Era . Retrieved 2015-10-16.
  5. ↑ McAree, J. V. (January 1, 1947). "Moss Still Fights The Jarvis Case". The Globe and Mail. p. 6.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.