A top federal government accounting official assured a court yesterday at a bizarre fraud trial that there are no secret government bank accounts containing billions of dollars secreted away from the public.
William Matthews, executive director of government accounting and reporting with the Treasury Board of Canada, said there are “no such bank accounts” when asked by assistant Crown attorney John Forrester if there are accounts in the names of individuals where money is stashed.
The “secret bank accounts” were the basis of a scheme promoted by four men on trial who allegedly lured people to pay them to access the billions and become debt-free.
Paul Stapylton, 49, John Boyle, 53, Donald Coatsworth, 52, John Hondzel, 63, and Andreas Toth, 38 are representing themselves without defence lawyers — and some have said they are only appearing on behalf of the names on the indictment.
They promoted an idea that names spelled in capital letters were the names on the secret accounts. All that was needed was a “straw man” contract filed on the account as debtors with the provincial government put liens on the money and stop paying debts.
Chris Edgar from Service Ontario said the names on the documents are in capital letters for data entry purposes.
He said there are hundreds of “bogus” contracts filed and no way to catch them all because they are entered electronically.
Matthews said there is only one federal bank account — the consolidated revenue fund — and the account is public.
Forrester asked if there was “any reality” to the secret account concept.
“There’s no significance whatsoever and no such bank accounts,” he said.
None of the accused men had many questions for either witness.
Boyle asked if Matthews was instructed not to comment on some “sensitive issues” in the public forum.
Matthews said he “can’t think of any information I couldn’t comment on.”
The trial continues today.
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