The mysterious case of Harold Backer has taken another twist.
The former Olympic rower and investment dealer has been sentenced to 14 months in jail after pleading guilty to fraud. The sentence was reduced by a month based on time served while in custody. He was also ordered to serve three year probation term that will prohibit being involved in financial investment.
“The resolution in this case, a guilty plea to a single count of fraud in excess of $500, by pleading guilty the accused waves his right for an appeal,” said crown counsel spokesperson Dan McLaughlin. “The resolution of this case was arrived at after a full and careful consideration of all the charges.”
Backer had originally plead not guilty, but switched the plea on Wednesday morning in a Victoria courtroom to guilty on one charge of fraud over $5,000.
The 55-year-old disappeared for nearly 18 months on Nov. 3, 2015 when he didn’t return home after telling his family he was going out for a bike ride.
The three-time Olympian was previously facing two charges of fraud over $5,000 and has pleaded not guilty to those counts.
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What still has not been publicly revealed is where Backer went.
“As you can presume the answer to that was not relevant to today’s proceedings and I will not be answering that question,”said Backer’s lawyer Joven Narwal. “He has been looking forward to the criminal proceedings ending. No doubt he is deeply remorseful. To some degree the finality of this has been somewhat cathartic to him.”
In 2015, soon after he disappeared, financial crime investigators started looking into work the investment dealer had been doing. Investors in his company, My Financial Backer Corp., received a letter.
Boris Klavora alleges that he lost hundreds of thousands of dollars based on Backer’s investments. He is pursuing damages in civil court. Klavora said he received a letter from Backer that said he invested in a tech company and lost money and then tried to gain it back. The money was never paid back to Klavora.
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“He said sorry that happened and that is why he disappeared,” said Klavora outside the Victoria courthouse following sentencing on Wednesday.
Klavora was one of Backer’s rowing coaches and has invested with his for 20 years.
“That part is worse than the lost money. The lost friendship, the lost trust,” said Klavora. “He also lost his life. He is 55 years old, a capable person and his life is ruined. I feel bad for the people who lost money, his family and for him. It’s a tragedy.”
The investment banker surrendered to police in April 2017. He rowed for Canada in the 1984, 1988 and 1992 Olympic Games.
-With files from the Canadian Press
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