The Alberta Court of Appeal has upheld Jeffrey Ber’s fraud convictions but overturned his conviction for accepting a secret commission. Ber had been sentenced to seven years in prison after using millions of dollars of client funds to purchase high-risk oil and gas stock connected to a company where a close friend held an executive role.

A Calgary man convicted in connection with the use of more than $6 million in client funds has had one of his convictions overturned by the Alberta Court of Appeal, while his fraud convictions remain in place.

Jeffrey Ber was previously sentenced to seven years in prison after being convicted of two counts of fraud over $5,000 and one count of accepting a secret commission. The case involved the purchase of high-risk oil and gas shares using funds from client investment accounts.

According to the trial findings, the matter arose in 2017 when Ber purchased approximately $6 million worth of shares in Blackbird Energy, a Calgary-based oil and gas company. At the time, Ber had a close personal relationship with Josh Mann, Blackbird’s vice-president of business development.

The trial judge found that Ber sold existing investments held by his TD clients and placed the Blackbird shares into their accounts. The move allegedly caused a number of client accounts to fall outside their stated risk tolerance, meaning the investments no longer aligned with the level of risk those clients had agreed to accept.

Ten days after the share purchase, Ber received a $104,000 payment from Blackbird Energy. The payment formed the basis of the secret commission conviction. Evidence at trial also showed that Ber had incurred significant credit card spending shortly before receiving the funds, including tens of thousands of dollars in purchases.

The Alberta Court of Appeal has now overturned the secret commission conviction and ordered a new trial on that charge. The appeal court found that the trial judge did not properly account for evidence from Blackbird executives who characterized the payment as a consulting-related expense. The court also noted that evidence from the company’s controller supported the reclassification of the payment as being connected to consulting services.

However, Ber’s two fraud convictions were upheld. Six years of the original seven-year sentence related to the fraud convictions, while one additional consecutive year had been imposed for the secret commission offence.

The decision means Ber’s fraud findings remain intact, but the secret commission allegation will have to be addressed again if prosecutors proceed with a new trial. It is not yet known whether the Crown will pursue a second trial on that charge.

Ber had been released on bail pending the outcome of his conviction appeal. Following the appeal decision, he is required to surrender, although he may seek release again while pursuing a separate sentence appeal.

The case highlights the serious consequences that can arise when investment decisions are made without proper regard for client risk profiles, disclosure obligations, and conflicts of interest. It also underscores the importance of transparency where financial advisors receive payments from third parties connected to investments placed in client accounts.

The post Calgary Fraud Convictions Upheld as Secret Commission Conviction Overturned appeared first on Canadian Fraud News Inc. | Fraud related news | Fraud in Canada.

Originally published on Canadian Fraud News.