Waterloo woman sentenced to jail for securities fraud

A “recidivist” from Waterloo, Ont. received a two-year jail sentence for fraudulently selling promissory notes to investors, including members of her church, the Ontario Securities Commission says.

Michelle Dunk of Waterloo, Ont. was sentenced Wednesday in the Ontario Court of Justice in Kitchener. She was found guilty in April of fraud, breaching a cease-trade order, unregistered trading and trading without a prospectus.

The charges relate to promissory notes for Rocky Point Energy, which Dunk sold to four investors—including a senior citizen and members of her church—between 2012 and 2016. Some of the notes promised interest returns of 15% in as few as 45 days, the OSC said in a release.

Investors, some of whom were told their investments were “100% secure,” lost CAD$90,000 and US$70,000, the OSC said.

Dunk was sentenced to two years in jail less a day and ordered to pay $158,435 in restitution to investors.

In imposing the sentence, the judge wrote that Dunk’s actions “were motivated solely by financial gain without regard for the path of destruction she caused to the financial stability of the individuals she solicited.”

Dunk, whom the OSC referred to as a “recidivist,” was previously sentenced to 75 days in jail and two years of probation after pleading guilty in 2016 to charges of unregistered trading and breaching a commission order.

Those charges related to the unregistered sale of Hockley Energy securities to Ontario investors in 2011 and 2012.

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