BY KEITH LACEY
Two of Pierre Montpellier?s victims ?treated him like a son.?
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People who lost their savings to Pierre Montpellier and reporters leave the courthouse Wednesday. |
The parents of six grown children, who did not want their names used, were two of about 30 of the 128 people conned by the financial adviser who showed up in court Wednesday for Montpellier?s day of reckoning.
Many of Montpellier?s victims considered him a friend, it was revealed in court.
The couple took no solace Montpellier was given an additional two-year penitentiary term on top of 31 months he?s already spent in custody in
relation to the largest fraud scheme this city has ever witnessed.
The couple, now in their 60s, lost more than $50,000 to Montpellier.
?We knew Pierre since he was a child...we treated him like a son and he was always welcome in our home,? said the husband. ?He came to my house, ate my food, drank my beer and then he stole my money.?
Unlike many of the other victims, Montpellier?s lies and deception ?didn?t ruin us,? but their lifestyle has changed since they lost the money, he said.
?We?ve got six children and like most parents we wanted to leave them something when we go?? he said. ?We won?t be able to help them out as much as we?d like because of this.
?We weren?t ruined, but it?s certainly changed our lives and not for the better I can tell you that.?
In terms of punishment, this couple believes the shame and humilation Montpellier has brought upon himself and his family are more severe than any punishment the courts might impose.
?What good is it going to do anybody to send him away for another 15 years,? he said. ?It?s not going to help any of the victims and it?s certainly not going to help Pierre.
?I know a lot of the other victims don?t feel the same way we do, but we?re not vengeful people. I just know he?s got to live with what he did and that should really haunt him for the rest of his life.?
Jacques Cayen, 67, who lost ?a significant amount? is not as forgiving.
?I honestly didn?t expect he?d get a penitentiary term and I?m happy he did,? he said. ?I know how the system works and he?ll only serve a few months before he?s out on parole, but at least the system gave him a penitentiary term. That?s the least he deserves.?
Because of the publicity of this case here in Sudbury and all across Ontario, Cayen has no doubt Montpellier won?t ever be allowed to work in any
job where he has access to anyone?s hard-earned cash.
?This shouldn?t tarnish the reputation of other financial advisers...there are good people and bad people in every walk of life and unfortunately we got conned by a bad guy who everyone believed was a good guy,? said Cayen. ?
A third victim, who did not want to be identified and also lost close to $50,000, said outside the courthouse the sentence in this case doesn?t fit the crime.
?The sentence should have been more,? said the woman, in her early 50s. ?I lost $46,000 and was planning on retiring soon, but now I have to go back to work every day because of him.
?I told him how careful and conservative I was with my money and still he convinced me,? she said. ?It?s all because we trusted him so much and he took full advantage of that trust.? Montpellier has brought shame and embarrassment to his family and himself and must live with what he did for the rest of his life, she said.
