Earl Jones, the unregistered financial planner accused of bilking Montreal clients out of tens of millions of dollars, admitted at a recent bankruptcy hearing that he wrote fictitious statements showing false rates of return, CTV News has learned.
Jones arrived for the deposition last month accompanied by two body guards.
During the two-day process, Jones was asked: "Would you create fictitious loan agreements in the names of various individuals?"
"Yes," he responded.
According to Gilles Robillard, the bankruptcy trustee who has been examining documents for months, Jones used his clients in his trust account like his own personal bank account.
Robillard said Jones spent up to $18 million dollars over 25 years on "cars, houses, schooling, daughters' weddings, clothing, trips."
Jones admitted to signing clients' names, but said in most cases, he had power of attorney.
In the case of an ailing client in her 70s, he informed her notary one month before she died that she would be changing her will.
According to the documents obtained by CTV News, the woman "ended up leaving you (Jones) $40,000."
Jones said he was closer to his clients than their own families.
"It doesn't make me any better...but that the type of person you're looking at," Jones said.
Jones entered into evidence a hand-written letter to his former clients - although many of those clients told CTV's Rob Lurie they never saw the letter.
In the letter to "those individuals I have so wrongfully hurt" Jones appealed for them to get help from a charity.
Jones later wrote: "I will face my punishment for the crimes I have committed."
Jones is currently facing four counts of theft and four counts of fraud, but prosecutors are expected to lay dozens more charges when he returns to court on Friday.
