A Niagara Region man has admitted to defrauding two Ontario entrepreneurs of $52,000 after promising them millions of dollars in financing if they paid him a fee.
Peter Corbière, 67, pleaded guilty to two counts of fraud over $5,000, in Goderich court earlier this year and St. Catharines in 2024.
He’s set to go to trial for a third set of fraud charges in November.
CBC Hamilton first reported on Corbière’s conduct in 2018, when at least nine business owners spoke out about a troubling pattern. He’d offer them huge loans in exchange for a lender’s fee sent directly to his companies, but would never deliver the financing and still keep the fee.
This is what happened to Don Nott, a former farmer, who in 2016 was starting a new business to turn old farm plastic into reusable plastic, assistant Crown attorney Deanna Bronowicki told Goderich court on March 19.
Nott needed to buy a “very expensive piece of machinery” and connected with Corbière to get the financing, she said. Nott gave him $38,000 as part of their agreement in exchange for Corbière arranging a $1.4-million loan.
Corbière presented himself as a veteran business financing expert. He’d worked for a government bank helping small businesses, and had spoken at business events in the Niagara and Norfolk regions.
But Corbière “knew he didn’t have access and was reckless in whether he’d be able to secure the $1.4 million,” said Bronowicki.
Farmer Don Nott: ‘I realize … I’ve been duped’
Corbière, who represented himself in court, said he committed the fraud during “a time of tremendous difficulty at home” when his wife was diagnosed with cancer.
“I regret my actions and inaction,” said Corbière, who lives in Niagara-on-the-Lake.
As part of his sentence of 12 months probation, Corbière was required to pay Nott back the $38,000 within 90 days, or in mid-June, or would face a breach of probation charge and jail time, said the Crown.
As of Thursday, he had yet to do so, Nott told CBC Hamilton. Nott has reported it to the court, but said he has “no grandeur of hope” of getting the money back.
Neither the police nor the courthouse would confirm if Corbière has been charged.
In St. Catharines last September, Corbière pleaded guilty to defrauding Niagara Region entrepreneur Ty Shattuck of $14,000, which Corbière had already paid back.
In Shattuck’s victim impact statement, he said Corbière was a friend he trusted to get $7 million in financing for his business. The Crown read parts of Shattuck’s statement in court.
“I was not prepared for the shame that comes with being conned or fooled,” said Shattuck.
When the loan didn’t come through, Shattuck said he lost not only the $14,000 fee he’d given Corbière, but also the acquisitions Shattuck had lined up and ultimately his entire business.
“I lost my way and became careless, unintentionally, making bad decisions that affected others,” Corbière told the court. “I regret my actions and sincerely apologize to Mr. Shattuck.”
Corbière was sentenced to two years probation. As part of the conditions, he’s not allowed to do any business related to financial lending services.
