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At the very least, ACOA was attempting to improve its processes in part to answer questions about its due diligence and stewardship of public money, but some say it has overreacted based on the failings of one smoothing-talking entrepreneur.

There is no doubt that recent reported revelations about Drage had cast ACOA in a poor light and raised obvious concerns about the agency’s ability to select who gets access to its large supply of funding, including grants and no-interest loans.

Though perhaps not well known elsewhere, ACOA is a prominent federal agency in Atlantic Canada, with two-dozen offices across the four provinces that distributed $284 million in the 2017/18 fiscal year.

In November it was revealed that ACOA gave money to Orpheus and two other companies connected to Drage despite his checkered business record.

Drage’s most egregious dealings involved Mary Wood, a British senior who lost her life savings to Drage through two failed mortgage deals while living in Canada. A 2017 court judgement ordered Drage to repay Wood more than $200,000, but she is still waiting for her money. Now in her early 70s, Wood is back in England, relying on the charity of family and friends, doubtful she’ll ever get her money back.

But, according to court records, Drage filed for bankruptcy in 1996 and has been successfully sued numerous times throughout his career by business partners, investors, banks and even his own lawyers. Court records also show that the Royal Bank of Canada’s fraud-detection group in 2012 investigated Drage for suspected cheque kiting, a form of bank fraud.