Fraudster's secret commission conviction overturned; fraud counts stand

Jeffrey Ber will face a new trial on one of his three convictions after the Alberta Court of Appeal overturned his secret commission charge Friday, though his two fraud convictions remain intact.

Ber was sentenced to seven years in prison for defrauding clients of $6 million to buy high-risk oil and gas shares in Blackbird Energy, a company where his close friend Josh Mann held a senior role. Ten days after placing the shares in client accounts in March 2017, Ber cashed a $104,000 cheque from Blackbird. He had deposited $70,000 in credit card charges in the preceding four weeks, including $43,000 on a watch.

The trial judge ruled the payment was consideration for placing the shares. But the appeal panel disagreed, finding that uncontradicted evidence from two Blackbird executives described the cheque as "general and administrative expense for consulting fees," and the company's controller, a CPA, had approved reclassifying it that way. Because the trial judge didn't reject this evidence, the court found the inference of guilt was not the only reasonable one.

Ber remains in custody. He was released on bail pending the conviction appeal but must turn himself in. He can apply again for bail pending the sentence appeal. The Crown hasn't said whether it will pursue a retrial on the secret commission charge.