Former P.E.I. investment advisor gets 2 years prison
Former financial advisor David Hamilton Cudmore was sentenced to two years in federal prison after he pleaded guilty to 7 counts of fraud Monday.
Court heard Cudmore was found to be responsible for defrauding clients of $978,000.
"Incredibly damaging, and incredibly destabilizing to the victims involved," said Jeff MacDonald, Crown attorney in the case.
According to facts referred to in court, Cudmore, 57, defrauded clients by taking money they believed was going towards insurance and investment products.
He ran Cuddy Financial, and worked with Frank Harrison Dew of Morton Dew Ltd., Dew was sentenced to 54 months in federal prison in June, after he pleaded guilty to 26 counts of fraud, involving about 2.9 million dollars.
'They signed over their life savings'
"These were literally their life savings," said MacDonald. "The trust they placed in Dew and Cudmore was complete. They signed over their life savings without hesitation," he said.
MacDonald explained Cudmore will serve less time than Dew because it was determined that Dew and Cudmore acted together and individually in some cases.
"It was determined that Mr. Cudmore was acting in only seven of the cases identified. For the rest of them it was Mr. Dew who was the principal actor, who was responsible for the fraud," said MacDonald.
Provincial Court Judge John Douglas spoke about the "emotional damage" clients suffered in this case.
London Life has compensated the former clients for the money they lost. Cudmore however was given a restitution order in court to repay the $978,000 to London Life. That amount is part of restitution order of $2.9 million that was issued to Dew.
