Alberta man convicted in elaborate sports investment schemes frauds

An Alberta man has been convicted of fraud and forgery in a series of elaborate sports investment schemes that cost his victims more than $1.7 million. 

Nickolas Ellis was found guilty on Jan. 17 in Edmonton Court of King's Bench on eight counts of fraud over $5,000, three counts of use or trafficking in a forged document and three counts of identity fraud.

The case details how Ellis, 52, engineered a series of elaborate frauds, often using his purported connections to current and retired NHL players to both entice and placate investors. 

Ellis used fake emails, fabricated meetings, forged paperwork and "fictional characters" to lend legitimacy to his projects — defrauding eight friends, coworkers and neighbours. 

Ellis's crimes took place between February 2016 and March 2019.

"The investment opportunities presented by Mr. Ellis were a house of cards built on a foundation of deception," wrote Justice John Henderson.

"None of the investment opportunities were real and all were designed to generate substantial funds for Mr. Ellis at the expense of the investors."

The judge determined Ellis's projects were a fiction and the money gained from the schemes was never invested in anything other than his personal finances. 

Ellis used a series of ruses on his investors, including impersonating late New York Islanders legend Mike Bossy — and fabricating correspondence from lawyers the court determined did not exist. 

Ellis was initially charged on a 17-count amended indictment. He pleaded not guilty last October and has denied knowingly participating in any fraudulent activity. 

Derek Anderson, Ellis's lawyer, said he was reviewing the decision with an "eye towards appeal" but said his client declined further comment. Ellis is due back in court for arraignment on Feb. 3.

Some of his victims met Ellis after he moved into a neighbourhood near a golf course south of Sherwood Park around 2015. Others knew him for a relatively short time, in some cases only months, before investing with Ellis. 

The judge described Ellis as an intelligent, well-educated man with a history in mergers and acquisitions who was "highly regarded" by those he worked with.

The largest of Ellis's schemes was called the Dynasty Project. Three investors collectively lost close to $1.2 million.