© Copyright AgMedia Inc
by BETTER FARMING STAFF
It's going to mean adding telephone lines, setting up an office and budgeting for four full time officers. But after sifting through files and interviewing witnesses for more than seven months, police say that losses suffered by investors in the now-defunct with Pigeon King International Inc. are worth the investment.
"I think we have enough to go forward here and continue on with the approval of the crown attorney and collect evidence and then at the end of the day, if there's enough evidence, certainly lay charges," says Sgt. Robert Zensner, a spokesman with Waterloo Regional Police fraud squad. A WRP investigator has been working on the case with a colleague from the Royal Canadian Mounted Police part time since June 2008.
Pigeon King International, owned and operated by Arlan Galbraith, was a Waterloo-based scheme that involved selling pigeon breeding pairs for as much as $500 and buying back offspring for up to $50 each. The business collapsed last June leaving nearly 1,000 breeders in Canada and the United States saddled with a pile of worthless pigeons.
Zensner says the decision to proceed was made after a WRP representative met with a provincial crown attorney on Monday.
WRP will continue to partner with the RCMP with each police force now assigning two officers full-time.
The case is "probably one of our biggest fraud cases in terms of dollar value, number one, in terms of number of victims, number two, and, number three, just in terms of the amount of people we're bringing into this," Zensner says.
The investigation will involve gathering face-to-face statements from investors and information from experts in pigeons and agriculture. The involvement of the RCMP will make it possible to investigate south of the border, where hundreds of former PKI breeders are located.
With the business declared bankrupt and Galbraith facing personal bankruptcy proceedings on Mar. 9, the RCMP will also be looking into the possibility of bankruptcy fraud, Zensner says.
Galbraith could not immediately be reached for comment. BF
PKI summary
Comments
This is best news I have heard in a long time
2008 has been an extremely trying and difficult year. Reading the headlines this morning regarding the decision to proceed against Arlan Gailbraith is the best news I could possibly have hoped for.
I won't be critical of the fact that it has taken the police and the crown 7 months to come to this decision, I am just glad they arrived at the decision they did. I encourage all the Pigeon King Investors and victims to co operate fully with the authorities and may justice be served.
This is the best news and the way to get the New Year started off. We are glad to hear that those investigating this case were able to see that many innocent people became victims of PKI.
We will welcome the RCMP to continue it's investigation south of the border and also offer our help while they are in the U.S.
Good for the Police - its a little overdue, but a big step in the right direction
The difficulties PKI created for many individuals has been tragic. It is good to see that there is some very concerted effort to fully investigate and serve justice. It is unfortunate that so many were harmed.
It does not take two University courses and months of searches to understand that PKI was in technical bankruptcy from day one as soon as its first contract was signed.
Money in for pigeons: $500
Money out per year: $500
Duration of 1 contract: 10 years
$500 X 10 = $5 000
Total money in: $500
Total money out: $5000
So... Galbraith could pay you back for only 1 year with your own money. After that, there was no money left at all.
The only way to continue was to find newcomers to pay the first investors, using Paul's money to pay Pierre, and so on...
Simple!
Michel
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