Lottery Reseller Hit with Record Fine

OTTAWA, December 13, 2006 —The Competition Bureau announced today that Tom Taylor, 60, of White Rock, B.C., was ordered to pay a record fine of $225,000 and perform 100 hours of community service for offences under the lottery and gaming provisions of the Criminal Code of Canada.

Taylor's offences relate to direct mail lottery schemes that brought in $47 million under the names Canadian Lottery Buyers Association (CLBA); International Monetary Funding (IMF); International Lottery Commission (ILC) and Transworld Lottery Commission (TLC). The lottery schemes were mailed to residents of the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand from 1995 to 2002.

These schemes involved selling shares of lottery tickets. Consumers were led to believe that they had better chances of winning significant amounts of money by buying into these schemes. In reality, they would have been better off purchasing lottery tickets directly from authorized vendors. Consumers were also misled into believing that the promotions were affiliated with government.

Under the lottery and gaming provisions of the Criminal Code , it is illegal to sell, print or market lottery products without approval from an authorized government body.

“This case demonstrates the Bureau's willingness to use the laws of Canada to aggressively pursue those involved in cross-border scams,” said Raymond Pierce, Deputy Commissioner.

Consumers who suspect they have been the victim of deceptive mail promotions are encouraged to contact the Competition Bureau's Information Centre at 1-800-348-5358, or PhoneBusters, the Canadian Anti-Fraud Call Centre, at 1-888-495-8501.

The Competition Bureau is an independent law enforcement agency. We contribute to the prosperity of Canadians by protecting and promoting competitive markets and enabling informed consumer choice.

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For media enquiries, please contact:
Maureen McGrath
Communications Advisor
Competition Bureau
819-953-8982

For general enquiries, please contact:
Information Centre
Competition Bureau
819-997-4282
1-800-348-5358