Ontario financier found dead as investor files claim

The same month that Robert Mander, a self-styled investment guru, bought an elegant $3-million mansion in Oakville with a floor-to-ceiling limestone fireplace in the living room and in-ground pool, he finished work on an extravagant $85,000 backyard play-castle for his young son at another of his homes, a rural enclave on the outskirts of Hamilton.

Last month, a new exhibit of modern paintings was unveiled at the posh, three-storey, red brick Georgian gallery Mr. Mander owned in the heart of Oakville, next door to his office.

Those would seem to be some of the good times.

On Monday of last week, however, he was served notice of a lawsuit by a deeply suspicious investor, suggesting his financial investment empire was a massive fraud.

Two days later, on March 17, while the matter was being heard in a Toronto court, an associate of Mr. Mander’s informed the assembled lawyers that the financier was dead, killed by his own hand that very day.

Indeed, Hamilton police confirm they were called to Mr. Mander’s rural estate at 1:30 that afternoon. Inside they found a man, the victim of a sudden death that was ruled “not suspicious,” said Sergeant Terri-Lynn Collings, although the identity of the man was not officially released. The coroner is now investigating.

While the death adds a layer of shock to the unfolding calamity, it does nothing to solve the mystery of the tens of millions of dollars credulous investors heaped upon him over the last two years.

Mr. Mander had been the subject of neighbourhood wonder since he moved to the quiet, 12-house cul-de-sac of Stonebury Place in the Hamilton community of Freelton in the fall of 2007. Soon after moving in, he bought a house across the road because it was graced with better sun, neighbours said.

The extensive high-end renovations then started, the most talked about being the massive “to die for” castle and 30-foot pirate ship with lights running through it for his son.

“He was a very doting father,” said Emily Sarachman, a neighbour. “The son visited about every other weekend and Robert told me, “˜whatever he wants, he’ll get.’ And he wanted a castle.”

Mr. Mander told neighbours he got out of the financial markets in the summer of 2008 and was operating in all cash so he was able to make a good profit when everyone else was doing horribly after the ensuing market turmoil, said neighbour Mike Brazeau.

“If you were to meet the guy and talk to him, you would never guess in a million years that this would go on. Not the type of guy that you would imagine would take his own life,” Mr. Brazeau said.

“From outward appearances, one would never have expected that, although we had been suspicious over the last few months that there had to be something in the background.”

Neighbours were not the only ones suspicious of Mr. Mander.

The legal action — for a court-appointed receiver to probe what and where his assets are — was the final, exasperated act of Davide Amato, a former dentist who invested $12,176,000 with Mr. Mander, according to his statement of claim filed in court.

Mr. Amato, who had been a dentist for 18 years, was introduced to Mr. Mander in April, 2007. He sought investments that were guaranteed a return of 25% per year.

The dentist’s money was “persistently pursued” and over seven months Mr. Amato had invested about $4-million with Mr. Mander and Mr. Mander’s company, E.M.B. Asset Group Inc., and brought in another $1-million from family and friends, he says in his claim.

Mr. Amato soon created his own company to attract and pool third-party investments to boost his own profits. Mr. Amato clearly got the investment bug and, at the encouragement of Mr. Mander, sold his dental practice to pursue the scheme fulltime, he says.

Even the $1.8-million from the sale of his office went to Mr. Mander. Soon, Mr. Amato had brought about 40 others in with him, he says.

Mr. Mander, however, never “provided information identifying the exact investments or instruments through which EMB was allegedly earning sufficient rates of return to pay out EMB’s investors and provide additional income,” Mr. Amato says.

The dentist was “emphatically discouraged” from redeeming any of his investments and he always ceded to Mr. Mander, “given our disparity in financial experience.”

“I now believe that Mander’s aversion to redemptions was due to the fact that Mander never had an intention of repaying any of the loans.”

By late 2009, Mr. Amato’s relationship with Mr. Mander was deteriorating. Mr. Amato started requesting some of his money and he was given an assurance of a December 2009 payout, he says.

Mr. Mander then said he had suffered a heart attack and that delayed payments. He was given varying accounts of this health setback.

“Despite numerous demands for repayment over the course of the past several months, the above amounts have not been repaid,” the claim says.

He has had no contact with Mr. Mander since February when the financier refused to attend a meeting with Mr. Amato if he brought anyone else to it, he says.

Mr. Amato was worried that Mr. Mander was preparing to flee when he found other investors were also pursuing him and a number of his real estate properties had been put up for sale, including the Oakville mansion that Mr. Mander bought in October for $2.9-million and listed for sale on Jan. 19 for $3,299,0000.

The court action is now proceeding without Mr. Mander.

Justice Geoffrey Morawetz appointed an independent receiver to probe Mr. Mander’s assets and report back to the court.

“We are at the very early stages of an investigation into Mr. Mander’s affairs,” said Robert Kofman, a partner in RSM Richter, the appointed reciever.

He declined to comment on what the unexpected death might mean to this case. The lawyer for Mr. Amato similarly declined to discuss it and said his client was unavailable for comment.

The parties are expected back in court next week.