Former Medicine Hat pastor, convicted fraudster in Calgary courts

By Medicine Hat News on August 17, 2024.

A convicted fraudster brought back from Montana this week has been sentenced to four years in prison for defrauding 1,500 investors out of millions in related real estate developments.

Ron Aitkens, of Lethbridge, and was a pastor based in Medicine Hat in the early 1990s before leading the Foundation Group of Companies.

That including Harvest GP, which purchased the Cimarron land development in Medicine Hat before the Foundation firms began entering creditor protection in the early 2010s when dividends to thousands of investors came due.

Aitkens was only charged with dealings in one specific development project, known as Legacy. Trial determined that the company raised $35 million for the 502-acre project near Calgary, but between $10.7 million and $11.7 million was transferred out for improper uses.

The company had less than $10,000 in cash assets in 2011.

“The actions of the accused were reprehensible,” said Justice L.W. Robertson in a decision rendered in Nov. 2023 and delivered this week at a new sentencing hearing in Calgary.

“Aitkens is responsible for removing millions of dollars from a highly specific investment opportunity for his own purposes, He did this secretly and deliberatelyâ€¦ motivated by greed. For this he has been punished with a significant prison term.”

Convicted in 2020, Aitkens was set to be sentenced after numerous delays in late 2023 when it was reported to the court that he had left the country.

The Alberta Security Commission reported this week that Aitkens, 70, had been arrested in Montana and was returned to Calgary.

He was sentenced on Aug. 15 to a total of 48 months in prison, including 40 months for criminal fraud and a further nine months for making misleading statements.

He was previously barred for life from dealing in securities or having any capacity in companies that deal in securities.