'Con artist' preying on vulnerable cancer patients, judge says

At least a dozen people from Saskatchewan and Alberta say they're the victims of an 80-year-old a judge has previously called a "con man," who claims to be raising money to build a naturopathic cancer treatment centre in Lloydminster. 

There have been 15 complaints about him to the RCMP and several lawsuits launched against him. 

Many of the complainants say they're disappointed with a justice system that has allowed William (Bill) Chomicki to continue collecting money despite having been convicted of fraud. 

Since the early 2000s, Chomicki has been telling people he needs money to trigger the release of thousands or millions of dollars allegedly being held for him in India, Senegal or New York, so he can build a life-saving cancer treatment clinic.  

Just over a year ago, Chomicki was convicted of fraud after he raised several thousand dollars from Gwen Holland, a woman dying of colon cancer, on the promise that he would provide treatment, and use the money for the clinic.

Judge Kim Young was blunt in his assessment of Bill Chomicki when the Lloydminster resident appeared before him on July 8, 2014. 

"It's clear on the whole of the evidence that Mr. Chomicki is nothing but a con man," wrote the judge. 

"He's picking on completely desperate people." 

Judge concludes Chomicki scammed desperate cancer patient

According to court documents, Chomicki arrived at Gwen and Roger Holland's house about four years ago, just one day after Gwen Holland had received the news that there was nothing more doctors could do for her.

Chomicki handed the couple a business card identifying himself as a naturopathic doctor. And he offered Holland a "health-care program" in exchange for $3,500. 

But the court found he failed to provide any care to Holland. Roger Holland said his wife knew almost immediately that she had made a mistake. 

"She just broke down and cried. But I had to get her out of that and told her not to worry about it. $3,500 sure the hell isn't going to break us," Roger said to CBC's iTeam. 

"She wasn't thinking straight. And she was desperate, desperate, desperate."

Roger Holland said he tried to get the money back but Chomicki refused. 

Gwen Holland died in April 2011. 

In his decision, the judge said Chomicki appears incapable of offering genuine cancer treatment. 

"He doesn't even know a layman's fundamentals about medicine," the judge said. 

"Everything that he proposes makes absolutely no sense… It is the standard fare of a con artist."

In his defence, Chomicki's lawyer argued for a light sentence, saying "there's not evidence that this was anything more than a one-time incident, you know, there's not evidence of him being engaged in any ongoing criminal enterprise so I don't think that there's the necessity for the protection of the public." 

He asked the judge to refrain from giving Chomicki a criminal record or a fine. 

The judge concluded by calling Chomicki's actions "scary", saying it appears "Mr. Chomicki actually believes he's a real doctor to the point where it was clear from all of the evidence that he was attempting to steer this poor woman away from actual medical treatment for her condition." 

He sent Chomicki to jail for a month, put him on two years probation, and ordered him to repay Roger Holland. Holland says he still hasn't received any money.

Alleged victims take matters into their own hands

Many desperate people are attempting to get their money back from Chomicki, and stop him from taking any more from others. 

But they say the justice system is turning a blind eye.

• Read the story of Elizabeth D'Lugos who says Chomicki failed to repay a $15,000 loan despite the fact that she won a default judgment against him in court. 
• Read the story of Jason Ankney who confronted Chomicki on his driveway to demand repayment.

"I was under the understanding that crime doesn't pay but in this particular case I'm starting to wonder," said Glen Prosser, who runs a small engine repair shop in Lloydminster. 

A year and a half ago Prosser loaned Chomicki $2,000 on a promise that he would be repaid within a week, but he hasn't yet seen a dime.

"We've got an (80)-year-old man here and we can't seem to get the police on board. There's a problem."

After several months of waiting for repayment, Prosser lost patience and put up a sign in front of his business saying "Bill Chomicki please pay us." 

"I'm sure Bill drives by here. He knows it's up but he (doesn't) seem to care. His name is worth nothing," Prosser said. 

Many people claim Chomicki defrauded them

According to the RCMP, 15 complaints were made between 2009 and 2014 in Leduc, Kitscoty, Vermilion, Lloydminster and Maidstone. They have laid charges only in the case of Gwen Holland.

Kris Nelson laid one of those complaints on behalf of his father Fred, who died of cancer after allegedly giving Chomicki about $100,000. 

"He's taking advantage of people with cancer and when you have cancer you get pretty desperate. Your mind doesn't think the same," Nelson said.

According to documents provided by Nelson, from 2003 to 2008 his father wrote 43 cheques to Chomicki, ranging from $300 to $15,000. The money was purportedly to help Chomicki secure funding for the would-be naturopathic cancer treatment centre.

The documents show that in exchange, Chomicki promised health care to Fred and his wife. In addition he committed to paying tens of thousands of dollars in interest and bonus payments. 

Nelson showed CBC's iTeam handwritten receipts allegedly provided by Chomicki, indicating these were loans which would be paid back as soon as funds held for Chomicki in a Nigerian bank were released to his Canadian account. 

Chomicki took a similar fundraising approach with the Hollands, leading the judge to scoff "that is an absolute classic and to think that that is still being utilized by ... by con artists is amazing that they can't come up with something better than that." 

Nelson said he didn't know how much money his father had given Chomicki until after his death in 2009. He believes his dad may have kept it a secret out of embarrassment.

Nelson brought this matter to the attention of police. He said he believes they conducted an investigation, and he's frustrated no charges were laid. 

"If something would have been done in 2009 from today's date, maybe if something was done then this wouldn't have happened to them as well."

According to news reports from that year, police issued a warning to the public about an elderly man going door to door raising money for a cancer clinic and claiming to be working with a Nigerian millionaire.

Despite that, Chomicki continued to raise money from many people in the area.

Crown reviews complaints 

Earlier this year, Crown prosecutor Scott Whitelaw reviewed all 15 complaints against Chomicki, which he completed over the summer. 

When reached by CBC's iTeam, Whitelaw would only say "I had conducted a review of the files and had determined that they did not meet the standard for criminal prosecution."

CBC's iTeam asked Chomicki for an interview but he has refused because he's in the midst of appealing his fraud conviction.

"No comment until after the court case. It's in Appeal Court," Chomicki said. 

"I will talk to you. I'll disclose everything that you want to know in total and in detail."