Court documents reveal how one man’s actions devastated those closest to him
A 41-year-old financial advisor has admitted to defrauding 25 clients out of $1.8 million in a scheme that ran for seven years.
Kevin Douse pleaded guilty in Barrie court to charges stemming from fraud committed between 2016 and 2023. Court proceedings revealed that Douse diverted client funds meant for investments into his personal bank account.
The Crown prosecutor told the court that Douse “repeatedly lied to his victims, forged numerous documents and signatures, impersonated his victims, and directed several unauthorized transactions.”
Police arrested Douse in April following a 16-month investigation, charging him with defrauding the public of funds over $5,000 and 11 counts of uttering a forged document.
According to CTV News reporting, most of Douse’s clients were friends and family members who were exploited. Some clients lost their entire life and retirement savings, though it remains unclear where the money went.
“The feeling of betrayal and heartbreak has devastated me,” one victim told CTV News following Douse’s arrest. “Not only losing my financial security but also losing somebody who I valued as a friend. It’s truly been horrible.”
The court heard that while working for a now-defunct downtown Orillia-based company called WLTH Inc., Douse provided clients with falsified statements using the Canada Life Assurance Company logo. He passed these documents off as legitimate investment records without ever investing their money.
Douse defrauded clients by asking them to provide investment funds through cheques made payable to him personally, rather than to an investment company, according to court proceedings.
Among the victims was a senior woman battling cancer who wrote Douse a $145,000 cheque, believing he was investing her savings. The woman never recovered her money and died one week before Douse’s arrest.
The court also heard that Douse defrauded his in-laws out of approximately $20,000 during the fraud period.
Court records show Douse is currently named in at least eight civil suits in Barrie’s Superior Court of Justice.
Douse is scheduled to return to an Orillia courtroom next month to set a date for his sentencing hearing.
