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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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!

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...

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.

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.

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)

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...)

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.

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

col. ritter in the boardroom with the ponzi scheme...

I'm clearly behind in my Michael Ritter relate posts.... here is a story from the Edmonton Journal on July 1st...

Ritter didn't breach court order: lawyer
Charles Rusnell, Journal Staff Writer
Published: Saturday, July 01, 2006

EDMONTON - Edmonton businessman Michael Ritter made no serious attempt to hide the fact that he changed his name and obtained a Belizean passport under his new name while he awaited an extradition hearing on charges he took part in a $250-million fraud scheme.

This is proof, his lawyer told court Friday, that Ritter did not intend to breach a court-ordered recognizance that he not obtain another passport.
"Mr. Ritter, like Col. Mustard, has left clues all over the place so the police can go around and pick them up," lawyer Robbie Davidson told court on the final day of Ritter's trial for breach of recognizance, a charge that carries a penalty of up to two years in jail.

The charges against Ritter stem from an October 2003 order. Ritter, Alberta's former chief parliamentary counsel, had been indicted in the United States for his alleged role in a $250-million US Ponzi scheme, in which money from later investors is used to pay earlier ones. He had been arrested by RCMP on behalf of American authorities.

To gain bail, Ritter signed a recognizance in which he agreed to surrender his passport, not to get another one and not to leave Alberta. The wealthy businessman also put up $100,000 in cash and $150,000 worth of security in his house.

On Friday, Davidson focused much of his summation on Ritter's interaction with Casey O'Byrne, the lawyer who helped him get out of jail on bail. In earlier testimony, O'Byrne acknowledged helping Ritter get released. He also admitted signing Ritter's name-change application, but said he didn't read the document and thought it was for a name change in Canada, not Belize, where Ritter is also a citizen. O'Byrne also conceded his signature appears on Ritter's passport application, but he insisted he had no recollection of signing the document or discussing it with Ritter.

Davidson argued that O'Byrne knew the terms of Ritter's recognizance and if there had been a problem with him changing his name and obtaining a new passport, he should have told Ritter.

Crown prosecutor Greg Lepp offered a much different theory to the court. He said Ritter conspired with O'Byrne to get the Belizean passport so he could flee if his extradition became imminent.

Lepp said Ritter did not think he would get caught, and he did only after one of his employees discovered a scanned copy of the Belizean passport on Ritter's office computer and turned it over to the RCMP.

He noted that when a judge had ordered Ritter to turn in his passports, he surrendered his Canadian passport but did not tell the court about another passport from Belize he held in his own name. He had to turn that passport in to get yet another Belizean passport, this one in the name of Adam d'Orleans.

The judge is expected to issue his ruling sometime in August.

Check out the complete Michael Ritter Chronology...

the michael ritter scandal chronology.

This blog has seems to have become a one-stop-shop for information dealing with former Edmonton "lawyer," Chief Consel to the Alberta Legislative Assembly, business owner, philanthropist, and international man of financial skullduggery Michael Ritter. For the information of all daveberta readers and interested suspects, here is a chronology of all Michael Ritter related posts on this blog.

Feel free to comment and discuss.

The list will be updated as new posts are added.

Very Bad Men "The Man Without a Conscience" - Tonight (April 15, 2008)
Ritter Loses Appeal (December 11, 2007)
Michael Ritter scandal documentary (November 10, 2007)
Michael Ritter gets ten (November 1, 2006)
Where Ritter put the money (October 28, 2006)
Ritter pleads guilty (October 28, 2006)
One week left for Ritter (October 21, 2006)
Ritter gets Six (August 3, 2006)
Ritter Guilty of Passport Charge (August 2, 2006)
Fate on a Passport (August 2, 2006)
Clear as Mud. (August 2, 2006)
Ritter fails "to establish an air of reality" (July 31, 2006)
More Michael Ritter Scandal Action (July 9, 2006)
Col. Ritter in the Boardroom with the Ponzi Scheme (July 5, 2006)
The Western Standard on Ritter (June 21, 2006)
I'm sure Belize is nice in June. Ask Adam D'Orleans... err, Michael Ritter (June 20, 2006)
More Michael Ritter Madness (April 26, 2006)
The Michael Ritter Scandal Continues (April 25, 2006)
Summertime in Belize (April 24, 2006)
Michael Ritter Scandal Update (December 20, 2005)
Gordon gets 42 months for $43 billion (October 14, 2005)
Jailhouse Blues for Ritter (October 2, 2005)
The Michael Ritter Saga Continued (Sept 24, 2005)
Who let the Ritter out? Who? Who? Who? Who? (Sept 15, 2005)
When Visa Isn't Enough: The Michael Ritter Story (Sept 14, 2005)

Here is a Michael Ritter scandal timeline provided by the Edmonton Journal on October 28, 2006.

DIARY OF A DOWNFALL

March 1, 2001: Michael Ritter's financial services company, Newport Pacific Financial Group, hires Paul Hoag as its vice-president. Five months later, Newport hires Hoag's wife, Susan Edwards, as office administrator.

Jan. 28, 2002: The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is granted a temporary restraining order against J.T. Wallenbrock, a Los Angeles-based trust company accused of selling unregistered securities as part of a massive pyramid fraud scheme.

July 11, 2002: Hoag and Edwards tell Ritter they want out of Newport and raise concerns about the company's relationship with J.T. Wallenbrock and its owner, Larry Osaki.

July 15, 2002: Hoag, according to Ritter, asks for a severance payment of $600,000. Ritter refuses.

August 2002: Hoag and Edwards file complaints against Ritter and Newport with the Alberta Securities Commission, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and the RCMP.

September 2002: Jeremy Carter, Ritter's executive assistant, asks Hoag to return two highly confidential files Ritter believes Hoag has taken.

Oct. 9, 2002: Ritter and his lawyer, accompanied by several Edmonton police officers, execute a civil-court search on the home of Hoag and Edwards. They seize boxes of documents allegedly taken from Newport. Ritter then sues Hoag, Edwards and two other Newport employees for $40 million, alleging a conspiracy to undermine the company and steal its clients. The lawsuit is sealed by court order, allegedly to protect Newport's clients. The former employees later countersue for $1.5 million, claiming wrongful dismissal, harassment, theft and abuse of process.

December 2002: RCMP raid Ritter's office and home, searching for evidence implicating him in the pyramid scheme and the laundering of $43 million US that Wall Street energy trader Dan Gordon had stolen from his employer, Merrill Lynch.The raid doesn't come to light until The Journal obtains the search warrants three months later.

Feb. 26, 2003: The Journal and other media outlets are successful in unsealing Ritter's lawsuit. It contains sensational allegations that he was involved in helping perpetuate a massive and fraudulent pyramid scheme in California after it was shut down by the SEC. It is also alleged Ritter fabricated parts of his resume, including his legal credentials. In a news conference, Ritter denies all the allegations and claims he is the victim of a "drive-by smear campaign" by disgruntled employees.

March 19, 2003: A judge issues an order freezing two private airplanes, a condo and an Oilers skybox, which RCMP allege were bought with money laundered by Ritter on behalf of Gordon.

Sept. 10, 2003: Ritter files a $300-million lawsuit against James H. Donell, the Los Angeles receiver hired by the SEC to handle the dismantling of J.T. Wallenbrock. The lawsuit alleges Donell used his website to connect Ritter and a company he set up in Belize called Village Capital Trust to criminal fraud.

Oct. 8, 2003: Osaki, the owner of J.T. Wallenbrock, is arrested and charged with operating a $270-million US pyramid scheme. An affidavit filed with the arrest alleges Ritter helped Osaki keep the scheme operating after American authorities had shut it down.

Oct. 28, 2003: RCMP arrest Ritter after he is indicted in Los Angeles on charges of securities fraud, mail fraud, wire fraud, obstruction of justice, money laundering, criminal contempt and other charges in relation to the pyramid scheme. Ritter is released on $250,000 bail and denies the charges. Carter, his executive assistant, is also charged. American authorities say Ritter could be sentenced to life in prison if convicted.

Feb. 7, 2004: After pleading guilty in New York, Gordon tells American authorities that Ritter did not conspire with him to launder the stolen money.

Feb. 28, 2005: Carter pleads guilty to helping the pyramid scheme continue.

March 22, 2005: Osaki pleads guilty to operating the pyramid scheme. He is sentenced to 20 years in prison.

Sept. 9, 2005: The RCMP charge Ritter in connection with the theft and money laundering of $43 million US stolen by Gordon. Ritter is denied bail.

Jan. 23, 2006: The RCMP charge Ritter with breach of recognizance for obtaining a Belizean passport under an assumed name in violation of his previous bail conditions. Edmonton lawyer Casey O'Byrne is charged with aiding Ritter to breach the recognizance. O'Byrne denies the charge.

July 30, 2006: The Court of Queen's Bench rules against Ritter on a crucial legal argument in his fight to avoid extradition to the United States.

Aug. 30, 2006: Ritter is sentenced to six months in prison for breach of recognizance.

Oct. 20, 2006: Ritter agrees to plead guilty to two new charges in Edmonton to avoid extradition to the U.S. He agrees to plead guilty to stealing $10.5 million US from Gordon and to helping perpetuate the American pyramid scheme.

Oct. 27, 2006: Ritter pleads guilty. The Crown and defence recommend a sentence of 10 years, to be served in Canada.

the western standard on ritter.

From the Western Standard...

The mandarin, the mogul and the missing millions

Kevin Steel - June 19, 2006=

He went from the legislature to a high life of private jets and caviar parties. They feted him as a brilliant lawyer and philanthropist. Only when the cops came looking for millions in laundered, stolen cash, did Edmonton's elite discover who Michael Ritter really was.

"Everyone was hiding their true identities." When Michael Ritter wrote those words to Larry Osaki in August 2002, he knew what he was talking about. Ritter was a man who knew all about how to hide a lot of things, which is why Osaki had tracked him down in the first place. Osaki needed someone who knew how to get a lot of money out of the U.S., and out of the reach of Securities and Exchange Commission authorities who were closing in on his illegal pyramid scheme. Ritter was going to help him relocate his Ponzi scheme somewhere where they couldn't reach it. Osaki also wanted Ritter to ensure that all the foreign employees knew enough to keep quiet in case they were ever subpoenaed by police, to plead the fifth if they had to. "Will do, Larry," assured Ritter in an e-mail, adding that it wasn't likely that would happen anyway, since all the employees would be operating under fake names: "Everyone was hiding their true identities."

Read the rest here...

As well, here is the Court of Queen's Bench of Alberta document (United States of America v. Ritter, 2006 ABQB 398) documenting the Crown's request to Honourable Madam Justice J.B. Veit that Ritter's lawyer, Sid Terrabain, be removed as his counsel.

Click here for the complete Michael Ritter Scandal Chronology...

i'm sure belize is nice in june. just don't ask adam d'orleans... err, michael ritter.

I couldn't find an interweb link for this story, but this story was in today's Edmonton Journal:

Lawyer admits signing Ritter's name change and passport papers
Edmontonian charged with laundering $43 million US

Charles Rusnell
The Edmonton Journal
Tuesday, June 20, 2006

EDMONTON - While Michael Ritter was under a court order not to apply for another passport, the high-profile Edmonton businessman changed his name in Belize and successfully applied for a Belizean passport under his new name, a court heard Monday.

The applications for Ritter's name change and his new passport were signed by his friend, lawyer Casey O'Byrne.

In testimony, O'Byrne acknowledged signing Ritter's name change application. But he said he had not read the document and didn't know it was for the tiny Central American country of Belize, where Ritter is also a citizen, until he was contacted by the RCMP months later.

O'Byrne was subpoenaed to testify in Ritter's trial for breach of recognizance, a charge that carries a penalty of up to two years in jail. The Edmonton lawyer also has been charged with aiding Ritter to breach that recognizance.

Under the law, none of O'Byrne's testimony in the Ritter case can be used against him in future legal proceedings.

The charges against Ritter and O'Byrne stem from an order by a judge in October 2003. Ritter, Alberta's former chief parliamentary counsel, had been indicted in the United States for his alleged role in a $250-million US Ponzi scheme, in which money from later investors is used to pay earlier ones.

To gain bail, Ritter signed a recognizance and agreed to surrender his passport, not try to get another one and not to leave Alberta. The wealthy businessman also put up $100,000 in cash, and $150,000 worth of security in his house.

O'Byrne shared the same law firm as Sid Tarrabain, Ritter's lawyer in the extradition case. O'Byrne told the court he helped Tarrabain on the case, including signing, but not preparing, the documents related to Ritter's recognizance.

O'Byrne said that in March 2005, Ritter told him the case against him in the U.S. was falling apart and he wanted to get his financial trust business going again.

Ritter, according to O'Byrne, said he needed to travel to Toronto and wanted O'Byrne's legal assistance to change his name to get a new driver's licence.

Ritter obtained a Belizean passport in the name of Adam d'Orleans. The Mounties learned of the passport from an employee of Ritter's company, Newport Pacific, who found a scanned image of the passport on Ritter's office computer.

Police and the Crown have contended Ritter wanted the new passport and new identity so he could flee serious charges in the U.S. and Canada. The Americans are seeking Ritter's extradition for his alleged role in the Ponzi scheme. In Canada, he faces several charges related to his alleged role in laundering $43 million US, stolen from a brokerage firm by a Wall Street trader.

Ritter has pleaded not guilty to all the charges. He has been in custody since his arrest Sept. 9, 2005. The trial was adjourned and is expected to resume sometime in the next two weeks.

crusnell@thejournal.canwest.com

Click here for the complete Michael Ritter Scandal Chronology...

more michael ritter madness!

I started the movie script for a Michael Ritter scandal made-for-TV-movie last night. I'm thinking of casting Christopher Walken in the lead role.

You can't make this stuff up!

'Everything I had known for five or six years wasn't true'
Charles Rusnell, The Edmonton Journal
Published: Wednesday, April 26, 2006

EDMONTON - Prominent Edmonton businessman Michael Ritter told the young staff of his trust company he was the victim of a conspiracy by police and the government -- and some of them believed it.

"I honestly believed the RCMP were out to get him because he had been very public with his criticism of the government in Alberta," Patrick Mitchell testified in provincial court Tuesday.

But Mitchell, a former employee at Newport Pacific and a close friend of Ritter, said he began to have serious doubts after he attended Ritter's bail hearing Sept. 9, 2005, and heard the case laid out by Crown prosecutor Greg Lepp.

Mitchell turned to the RCMP for answers.

"I just wanted to know what was true," Mitchell told the court. "I felt like I didn't know anything. Everything I had known for five or six years wasn't true."

Mitchell would eventually provide Sgt. Marjorie Maier of the RCMP commercial crime unit with a printout of a passport from Belize in the name of Adam d'Orleans, which contained Ritter's photo. The printout became instrumental in helping the RCMP secure a search warrant to seize Ritter's computer and charge the former chief parliamentary counsel of the Alberta legislature with breach of recognizance. A judge had earlier ordered Ritter to turn in all his passports and to not obtain any more.

Mitchell is one of the main witnesses in Ritter's trial on that charge, which carries a penalty upon conviction of up to two years in jail.

It's one of a string of sensational charges Ritter faces. In Canada, he faces several charges related to his alleged role in laundering $43 million US stolen from a brokerage firm by a Wall Street energy trader. The United States is seeking Ritter's extradition for his role in a $250-million US Ponzi scheme, in which money from later investors is used to pay earlier ones. Read the rest here.

Click here for the complete Michael Ritter Scandal Chronology...