In this episode, Mehik and Eniayo examine white-collar crime and, more specifically, Ponzi schemes. The discussion begins by challenging common assumptions about what crime looks like and who commits it. While crime is often associated with violence and visible harm, white-collar crime operates quietly, often within trusted community spaces, and can cause devastating financial and emotional consequences.
After explaining how Ponzi schemes function, including how early investors are paid using funds from later investors to create the illusion of profit, Mehik and Eniayo turn to R v Johnson, a 2010 decision of the Alberta Court of Queen’s Bench. In Johnson, more than 50 individuals were defrauded of approximately $2.43 million through a Ponzi scheme that relied heavily on personal trust and community relationships. Many of the victims were members of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, where the offender served as an assistant pastor.
Following a close examination of the court’s reasoning and sentencing decision, including the 13-year custodial sentence and restitution order, Mehik and Eniayo consider broader themes of victim impact, deterrence, and the perception that white-collar offenders receive lenient treatment. The episode also explores the broader social implications of white-collar crime, particularly how fraud committed through positions of authority can weaken public trust in institutions and communities. The episode concludes by reflecting on a lyric from Woody Guthrie’s Pretty Boy Floyd, inviting listeners to reconsider how society defines crime, harm, and responsibility.
Mehik Khatra and Eniayo Akinyemi – Producers, Hosts, Editors
Music by: https://www.youtube.com
Artist: Bob Dylan
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Pro Bono Radio is part of the Queen’s chapter of Pro Bono Students Canada. The Pro Bono Radio team are not lawyers, and this is not legal advice.
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Research Referred to in the Podcast:
James Chen, “Ponzi Scheme: Definition, Examples, and Origins” (last modified 26 January 2025), online: <https://www.investopedia.com/terms/p/ponzischeme.asp> [https://web.archive.org/web/20251118085621/https://www.investopedia.com/ter ms/p/ponzischeme.asp].
Michelle de Hass, “Punishing White-Collar Crime in Canada: Issues with the Economic Model of Crime and Punishment” (2021) 59:1 Alberta Law Review 201.
R v Johnson, 2010 ABQB 546.
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