Earl Jones, the Montreal Ponzi Schemer

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It may not be on the billions of dollars scale of Bernard Madoff but Earl Jones of Montreal seems to have turned from a ‘charming’ family man to an even greater ‘monster’ who allegedly defrauded 130 clients of between $50 million and $100 million.

Earl Jones seemed like the kind of guy you’d like as a friend. Those closest to him describe the financial planner as charming and fun, adored by children, devoted father to two daughters. He was generous, quick to pay for drinks, and could be counted on to show up at weddings, funerals and hospital bedsides.

In June, the monthly cheques he issued to his clients for decades stopped coming or bounced, and Jones, 67, stopped taking calls. Investors got a sick feeling in their stomach. They began to fear the generosity of a man known to many as Uncle Earl had been coming directly out of their life savings, and his appearance at funerals and weddings might not have been so selfless after all.

Authorities now say Jones may have orchestrated an elaborate Ponzi scheme that defrauded investors of between $50 million and $100 million, and who has vanished.

He was being sought on Cape Cod where he had been involved with the Living Independently Forever, Inc. facility, which offered supported independent living in condominium communities. Unfortunately clients who thought they had a few hundred thousand gaining interest face eviction from their retirement homes because they can’t pay the rent.

Like Madoff, Jones understood that his greatest accomplice was trust. Madoff earned the confidence of two of the most respected businessmen and philanthropists in his world early on and built on this trust. More disastrously, Jones targeted his family and his immediate circle of friends.

Whatever happened, it’s evident Jones was growing increasingly desperate in the last few years, and especially in the last month. At least five years ago he began convincing widows with paid-off homes to take out a new mortgage so he could invest the loan and get a higher return.

In June, the stories got more far-fetched, with Jones convincing people to remortgage their homes because Bunny Storey, widow of Grey Cup hero and NHL referee Red Storey, or others were desperate for cash and would repay with interest for a short-term loan. It was all lies.

There is nothing redeeming in this tragedy. The only hope is that the bilked widow will soon be a thing of the past as women are now more involved in the family finances. They are thus less likely to hand over their cash to a spouse – or a husbandly adviser who may be peddling a Ponzi scheme.

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• Earl Jones hires lawyer, stays out of spotlight (ctv.ca)

Update
Earl Jones is arrested in his Montreal lawyer’s office.