Fraudster avoids prison after Halifax judge allows more time to pay $1.1M fine

A Nova Scotia fraudster has dodged prison after a Halifax judge agreed to give him more time to at least put a small dent in the amount of money he owes to more than 200 victims of his investment scam.

Quintin Sponagle, 59, faced the prospect of five years behind bars after he failed to meet a five-year deadline to pay a $1.1-million fine related to his 2017 sentencing on one count of fraud.

Last week, Halifax provincial court Judge Elizabeth Buckle extended the time frame, and ordered he pay a minimum of $500 a month for the next 18 months, at which time the case will return to court again.

At a hearing last year, Sponagle testified he and his wife, who live in Upper Vaughan, N.S., earn little income, making less than $25,000 a year combined. He said last week he is currently unemployed.

Many of Sponagle's victims were part of church groups or from his social circle. The victims had invested $4.4 million in a financial firm Sponagle controlled that was incorporated in Panama and had an office in Windsor, N.S., but more than $1 million was instead spent on cars, recreational vehicles and international travel.

Sponagle only paid $10,000 toward the fine at the outset of last year's hearing, and after the five-year deadline had elapsed.

Crown prosecutor Shauna MacDonald said last week it was clear he can't cover the entire $1.1 million, but she was concerned he refused to pay anything over five years, which is counter to the goal of making sure offenders don't profit from their crimes.

She said it appeared part of the issue is Sponagle's belief he will pay back his victims when a huge "pocket" of money comes to him following the "reset" of global monetary systems, a concept she had previously called the "stuff of delusions."

MacDonald agreed to the time extension. But if Sponagle violates the terms, the prosecution can return to court to apply to have him incarcerated.

Sponagle's plan

During last year's hearing into his fine payments, Sponagle insisted he would one day pay back the victims through a scenario where currencies around the world would "reset" and money would become available to him.

The court heard from an associate who testified he held "assets" for Sponagle, including "Zim notes," an apparent reference to the trillion-dollar banknotes issued by the southern African nation of Zimbabwe in 2009 during a period of hyperinflation.

While the new fine order requires Sponagle to pay a minimum of $500 a month, Buckle emphasized he was obligated to pay more than that if he had any money left over at the end of each period. If he skirted that requirement, the prosecution could seek to have him jailed.

"Your obligation is to pay as much as you can, whenever you can," she said.

The case returns to court in 2025, at which time Sponagle can make another application to extend the time needed to pay the fine.