Michal Benker was sentenced to two years in jail and fined $50,000 for orchestrating a damaging investment scheme. (Ian Holmes/NanaimoNewsNOW)

By Ian Holmes

scammer

Repeat Nanaimo fraudster jailed & fined for property investment scheme

Oct 4, 2023 | 5:27 AM

NANAIMO — Promising lucrative pay-outs through properties he didn’t own, a Nanaimo man with a history of dishonesty is off to jail.

Michal Andreas Benker, 62, was sentenced to a provincial jail term of two years behind bars after he pleaded guilty in July to a charge of fraud over $5,000, canceling a pending trial.

A Tuesday, Oct. 3 provincial court sentencing hearing in Nanaimo heard Benker created a scheme whereby people invested in northern B.C. residential properties on the basis the community of Kitimat would thrive due to pending industrial investment.

“If they (properties) existed they certainly were not owned by Mr. Benker or his company as he described it, Bencor Holdings,” Crown counsel’s Nick Barber said.

Nanaimo RCMP began investigating Benker’s actions in the summer of 2021 following complaints.

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Court was told several of Benker’s property investment victims were paid back in full, however, a man whom the case and police investigation centered on lost nearly $90,000.

Barber said the victim’s life derailed after finding out he was duped.

“The loss of his nest egg set him down to drinking more and having more health problems and he subsequently passed away.”

Numerous agreements were signed between Benker and the victim, which Barber said did not materialize.

Barber said while a civil court judgment of $35,000 was awarded to the victim, his children gave up rights to their father’s estate because of debts incurred in large part due to Benker’s fraud scheme.

Barber described the crimes as calculated with a degree of sophistication and planning.

Repeat offender

Benker did not pay back $55,000 in restitution from an investment scam leading to a jail sentence in 2017, Barber told the court.

Barber noted the offender also did not pay restitution related to a fraud under $5,000 conviction in 2009.

Benker declared bankruptcy multiple times in the past, which Barber said is a strategy used to avoid restitution obligations.

Megan Winkel, Benker’s lawyer, told court her client relapsed into a gambling addiction during the pandemic and struggled with the stress of working in a Nanaimo homeless shelter.

“He did slip back into his old habits and got himself into some significant financial trouble as a result,” she said.

Winkel said Benker is remorseful, has not gambled since 2021, and is open to treatment programming while in custody.

Due to health struggles led by kidney failure and diabetes, Winkel said it’s unlikely Benker, who relies on a pension and disability cheques, will be able to work again.

Benker, who owned and operated a pest control company in Nanaimo for 25 years, declined to make a statement to the court.

Judge Tamara Hodge ordered Benker to pay a $50,000 victim surcharge within two years to the benefit of the provincial government.

Benker was also ordered to forfeit several computer devices and documents, as well as provide a DNA sample.

Benker declined to comment to NanaimoNewsNOW, nor the court regarding his actions. (Ian Holmes/NanaimoNewsNOW)

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Ian.holmes@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @reporterholmes