A former executive who had already admitted to defrauding more than a thousand investors out of tens of millions of dollars has abandoned his attempt to take back his guilty plea.

David Humeniuk, 68, was supposed to be sentenced in a Calgary court on Dec. 12. Instead, he fired his lawyers and said he wanted to back out of his guilty plea from last October to fraud over $5,000.

"I told the court I would look into the circumstances of the plea, advise Mr. Humeniuk and receive his instructions as how he wished to proceed with this matter," his new lawyer, Yoav Niv, told Court of Queen's Bench Justice Earl Wilson on Friday.

"He is eager to get this matter dealt with and his instructions are that we... proceed with the sentencing. He's not contesting the validity of his plea."

Humeniuk sat in court with his arms folded.

Humeniuk and Varun Aurora were charged by RCMP four years ago for their involvement with Concrete Equities.

The firm, which went into receivership in 2009, raised money from Canadian investors to buy undeveloped beach properties in Senora, Mexico, called the El Golfo de Santa Clara Project. Investors were promised returns of more than 500 per cent if they purchased a stake in the property, the RCMP said.

The units were sold for $10,000 each.

Aurora entered a guilty plea to fraud over $5,000 in 2016 was given a two-year suspended sentence and agreed to pay $1 million in restitution.

About 1,200 victims are believed to have lost more than $23 million.

Humeniuk's lawyer asked for a couple of weeks to get letters of support and medical records as part of the sentencing.

The matter is to be back in court Jan. 12 to set a sentencing date. Humeniuk is being held in custody.