Quebec Ponzi scheme operator Earl Jones waives parole
Currently serving an 11-year sentence, he says he has "another release plan"
Earl Jones, the former financial adviser who in 2010 was sentenced to 11 years in prison for operating a $50-million Ponzi scheme, has waived his right to a parole hearing.
"He didn't give any reasons why, but he waived his right to a hearing at this time," said Joey Davis, the son of a woman who was defrauded by Jones.
Davis is a member of the Earl Jones Victims Organizing Committee and has advocated on behalf of Jones’s victims, many of whom are elderly.
Davis was also part of a winning class action lawsuit against the Royal Bank of Canada, of which Jones was a client. It resulted in a $17-million settlement with the victims.
In a letter obtained by CBC News, the Parole Board of Canada told Davis that Jones would stay in prison longer than the expected one-third of his 11-year sentence.
In his letter to fellow committee members, Davis quoted a notice he received from the Canadian parole board, which in part read:
"The offender has specified the following reason for the waiver: other release plan. Consequently, a new panel review has been scheduled for September 2015."
Davis said he spoke to the parole board, but didn’t learn more about what Jones’s plans for release were.
Patti Washer and her husband lost more than $125,000 after investing with Jones, who was a family friend.
She's not surprised he decided to stay in detention.
"He's certainly well taken care of where he is," she said.