Jennifer Killins, a former Waterloo-based financial planner who pleaded guilty to four counts of fraud, has been sentenced to four years in jail less time served.
In all, the 38 year old will spend another 33 months behind bars.
In court on Thursday, Justice Colin Westman called Killins’ business a “a total scam,” adding that she groomed her victims to defraud them.
In June, the self-styled adviser admitted to scamming her clients out of a total $1.3 million.
Rather than invest their money, Killins used the funds to run her business, called Dollars and Sense Financial Group.
She also used the money to launch a book, pay for cosmetic surgery and pay off her personal bills.
One of her victims, Jo-ann Lauzon, says she lost nearly $200,000.
“It will never be enough,” she says of Killins’ sentence. “What she’s done to all these victims can’t be measured in time in jail.”
Indeed, the Crown was hoping for a six-year sentence.
Killins declined to make a statement to court before she was sentenced, but her lawyer, Brennan Smart, says she is genuinely remorseful.
“She was desperately trying and deluding herself into thinking that she make everything right, and avoid detection, pay everyone back,” he tells CTV News.
In court, Justice Westman noted there are too many scam artists in our community, and too many vulnerable people.
He said the government should require insurance on every investment to protect investors against fraud.
Lauzon agrees, but adds “I think it would have to be absorbed by the financial planner and not by the consumer.”
In addition to jail time, Killins has also been ordered to pay back her clients.
