The case of a former Saskatoon company facing fraud charges is heating up.
Ron Fast of Marathon Leasing is accused of bilking millions of dollars from more than 100 Saskatchewan investors. The charges date back to the 1990's. Now, those investors have launched a class action lawsuit. But it's not against Marathon Leasing.
Instead of going after the company or Ron Fast himself, the investors have filed against Ron Fast's former lawyer and the Saskatchewan Securities Commission. That's the regulatory body through the provincial government that protects the public when it comes to investments. The lawsuit claims the securities commission did not do its job.
On Thursday afternoon, the courtroom was packed with people who say they invested with Marathon Leasing, only to lose most of or all of the money they put in. The company used investor's money to deal with leased vehicles. It was run by Fast and Danielle Fast-Carlson.
RCMP started investigating the owners in 2009, and just last week laid several fraud charges dating back to 1995.
Police say more than 100 investors lost millions of dollars through this company. Some were from across Canada but most of the investors were from Saskatchewan.
Helen Fehr was in court for Fast's first appearance Thursday afternoon. "We lost a lot of money through this. An investment. We trusted him BUT in the end it wasn't what we expected it to be."
The unhappy people hoping to get an explanation from Fast were further disappointed when neither he, nor Fast-Carlson showed up in court. They were represented by their lawyers.
The case was adjourned to next month, but most people in court say they will be back for the next date, and hope to find restitution.
