A man who posed as a highly successful currency trader for four years and defrauded investors — including friends and his long-time family doctor — out of $15.6 million was sentenced to nine years in prison Tuesday.

“(Steven) Nowack testified he has a gift for making money. He certainly does have a gift but that is not it. It is the ability to deceive people into parting with their money,” Justice Robert Goldstein said.

Nowack, 56, was convicted of 12 counts of fraud over $5,000 by a jury earlier this year.

“You are dogs---,” one person in the public gallery said, pointing at Nowack as he entered the courtroom in handcuffs at the start of the sentencing hearing.

Nowack claimed to be making millions and said he had tens of millions in an investment fund — upwards of $146 million at one point — but in reality he lost about $23 million over the four years on an online trading platform based in the U.K.

Nowack used at least $2.7 million of the money for his own purposes and legal fees — including to pay a lawyer defending him in civil cases against some of his investors, Goldstein said. He also used some of what he got from investors to pay other investors in a classic Ponzi scheme move.

Nowack would showcase his skills to his prospective victims by having them watch him trade live and make significant money — except those demos were done with “virtual” money in demonstration trading accounts.

The Crown’s forensic accountant identified about $25 million in investor money transferred by Nowack to the online trading accounts. Of that amount, $15.6 million belonged the victims in this criminal case — in some cases their life savings. Nowack took $4 million from his family doctor, who has since died, and used some of that money to pay rent and credit card bills. One man invested $5 million on behalf his family members. Goldstein said some of the victims who lost significant sums of money have had to sell homes or property and postpone retirement.

In sentencing Nowack, Goldstein described the serious harm caused to his victims by not just the loss of money but betrayal of trust.

“Fraud is a crime of emotional violence,” he said. “A person like Mr. Nowack cultivates a relationship with the victim in order to build trust. When that trust is breached the victim questions his or her judgment, stability and intelligence. The victim feels shame and embarrassment. The financial and emotional impact can be devastating.”

In addition to the prison sentence, Nowack will have to pay restitution in the amount of $14.5 million to his victims, which as paid will be subtracted from a fine of $15.6 million. He has three years from the time he is released from prison to pay the fine, or he risks spending seven more years in prison. He is also banned from ever having authority for money or property belonging to anyone but himself.

David Weenen invested $100,000 with Nowack in 2013, about half his life savings. He only got $15,000 back after repeatedly demanding his money back from Nowack when returns failed to materialize in the promised time period. Weenan then went to the police and became the first complainant.

Speaking after the sentencing hearing Tuesday, he said he remembers telling Nowack that if the investment was anything other than legitimate, “I’d ruin his life. And here we are today.”

Weenen said that the nine-year sentence imposed by Goldstein is fair, given that it is at the high end of the available sentencing range. But he doesn’t expect to get his money back, despite the restitution order set by the court.

“I don’t know a lot of guys that can pay back $15 million in three years after they serve their time,” he said.

He said he is just happy that Nowack will now be spending his nights in prison.

In his ruling Goldstein noted that there have been several attempts to delay the court process by Nowack, who was unrepresented for a portion of time during the trial. Nowack brought a motion to have Crown prosecutor Renna Weinberg removed and another motion alleging abuse of process, both of which were dismissed.

The court hearing was at times bizarre. The Archbishop Desmond Tutu filed a letter of support for Nowack for his sentencing hearing that stated: “I am very sad you are in jail and hope that you can be vindicated and set free.” A more detailed letter from Tutu was expected but was never sent, according to Nowack. Among those details, Nowack said in affidavit, would have been his work to assist peace efforts in the Middle East. “The fact that Mr. Nowack’s efforts to achieve peace in the Middle East have been unsuccessful to this point is neither an aggravating or mitigating factor,” Goldstein observed.

Nowack has been in custody since his conviction in April 2019 when Goldstein revoked his bail. He unsuccessfully sought bail in May so that he could argue a civil case, prepare post-conviction criminal motions, and spend Mother’s Day with his mother. Nowack later argued that he sustained a concussion while being transported to court. He claimed he was verbally abused, that the officers would not uncuff him at the hospital, describing the behaviour of the officers as “three or four steps removed from Auschwitz.”

Goldstein found that Nowack exaggerated his medical symptoms and likely also exaggerated any verbal abuse he alleged from the court officers while at the hospital.

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“Mr. Nowack’s invocation of Auschwitz was deeply offensive,” Goldstein wrote. “I find it very unlikely that the actions of the Toronto police court officers were only a few steps removed from concentration camp guards.”

In his reasons for denying Nowack bail, Goldstein also noted that Nowack had previously breached his bail by contacting an investor and attempting to persuade him not to participate in a police investigation. Nowack has also been found in contempt of court in civil motions four times, resulting him being jailed three times.

Before Goldstein issued his sentencing decision, he gave Nowack the standard opportunity to speak to the court. It’s often a time when a defendant expresses remorse. Nowack chose to apologize to the judge for unintentionally causing him to feel any animosity or frustration with Nowack during the numerous court hearings. He said nothing about the victims of his fraud.