Friday, June 11, 2010

The way it is in the USA. The way it isn't here in Canada!

It is so frustrating to see inaction here in Canada and even more so when we see the contrast to actions in the USA. Remind our politicians that their promises have yet to be realized as actions.
The latest example is one where the mastermind of a Ponzi scheme in Florida which defrauded investors of over 1 billion dollars was sentenced to 50 years in prison.
The article "Florida Ponzi mastermind gets 50-year sentence" highlights the similarities between Scott Rothstein and Norshield's John Xanthoudakis and the two fraudulent investment schemes. When it comes to consequences for the two crooks, the similarities cease.
Rothstein's scheme only started operating in 2005. In five short years, he has been caught, tried and convicted. Xanthoudakis' Norshield Asset Management (NAM) organization was shut down by the Ontario Securities Commission (OSC) in 2005 after it ran for over 10 years. It took five long years for the OSC to conclude that there was wrong-doing at NAM and that Xanthoudakis was behind it. There are no charges laid, there are no criminal charges pending. Johnny X (Xanthoudakis) has apparently opened a million-dollar restaurant in the Bahamas.
Welcome to white-collar crime in Canada, or perhaps what is being implicitly stated is "Welcome, white-collar crime to Canada!"