A two-year trial involving Cinar, the company behind some of Canada’s most beloved fictional characters, has concluded with a guilty verdict for founder Robert Weinberg and two other men.
In the 1990s, Cinar produced television content aimed at children, including Caillou, Paddington Bear and Arthur.
In 2000, the company collapsed after an audit revealed that millions of dollars were being transferred to accounts in the Bahamas through hedge-fund manager John Xanthoudakis. While investors rushed to get their money out, the company lost an estimated $120 million worth of assets.
Weinberg and Xanthoudakis, along with Mount Real CEO Lino Matteo, faced a total of 36 fraud-related charges.
The trial lasted for two years, making it one of the longest jury trials in Canadian history. Prosecutor Matthew Ferguson attributed the length to the complexity of the math involved in tracing the illicit funds.
“It involved a lot of accounting but at the end of the day, it was a trial that dealt with dishonesty and depravation and the jury understood, since they found them guilty,” said Ferguson.
Janet Watson was one of the investors who trusted money with Matteo and lost tens of thousands in the scam.
“I’m so grateful for that jury for hanging in there for two years, because it was a long and arduous and at times excruciatingly boring process,” she said. “They sure made the right decision.”
While the judge ordered the three defendants to be immediately detained, Weinberg’s attorney Annie Emond said she has yet to decide if she will file an appeal.
“He’s still claiming his innocence,” she said. “It’s his version of the facts and he’s disappointed as to what happened to a company that he founded in 1976.”
The three men will be sentenced on Monday and prosecutors said they will seek lengthy terms in federal prison.
