Satellite : Man Guilty In Million Dollar Satellite TV Franchise Scheme

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Satellite : Man Guilty In Million Dollar Satellite TV Franchise Scheme
Many trusting seniors ended up victims of Bill Muller's million-dollar satellite TV franchise scheme, an Owen Sound judge decided yesterday.

Ontario Court Justice W. W. Bradley found Wilhelm Calvin Muller, 47, of Feversham guilty on 25 counts of fraud, mostly on seniors in Grey, Bruce and Dufferin counties.

Victims lost from a few thousand dollars to more than $700,000, from October, 2003 to August, 2007. Muller operated Bill's Satellite Service based in Priceville and he'd installed satellite systems for many victims.

Muller gained their trust, then told them he needed thousands of dollars in loans to purchase B*ll Expr*ssvu satellite TV franchises or exclusive territories or B*ll Internet service areas, Bradley's judgment said.

B*ll staff testified at trial no such payment for exclusive territory exists.

The largest, $700,000-plus fraud was committed against an 83-year-old man, who'd made 19 to 23 loans to Muller between January 2004 to May 2007. When Muller's postdated repayment cheques became uncashable, the victim tried to contact him.

Muller came to his house to say he was entering bankruptcy. The victim told him he was going to sue him "and the defendant laughed," Bradley said in his written judgment.

The victim had considered he and Muller were "good friends." He'd also lent Muller money prior to 2003.

The total fraud for which Muller was convicted amounted to more than $1.3 million.

Mostly the loans were made from the goodness of people's hearts, police investigator Peter Ridgeway said in an interview.

Getting people to come forward was challenging because many consider themselves "suckers." Lenders were promised rates of return ranging from a few per cent to 10%.

"I know that they are thoroughly embarrassed by all of this," Ridgeway said.

Many drew upon retirement savings. One man who lost $100,000 preferred to "move forward" rather than face the embarrassment of following through on a criminal charge, Ridgeway said.

Meanwhile, Ridgeway said, Muller was living an "extravagant lifestyle," driving a Lamborghini and living in an expensive, rented Collingwood condominium.

Muller, who represented himself during the trial, will be sentenced Feb. 11, after a report on his background and circumstances is prepared.

After the judgment, assistant Crown attorney Peter Leger told about 15 victims who attended court yesterday that he would seek a "significant" jail sentence for Muller. The maximum imprisonment is 14 years.

Victims testified he borrowed money from them, sometimes paid them back, winning their confidence, then borrowed more which he never fully repaid, if at all.

Most victims trusted him because they believed he had installed a satellite TV system professionally and said he treated them respectfully, the judgment said.

Muller seemed trustworthy also to those who knew his family, whom they knew as "good people." Others lent him money because some neighbours already had.

Muller told some that he wanted to expand his business into Internet services, to provide work for his brother with diabetes, who was struggling, so lenders agreed to help him out for that reason.

Det. Ridgeway said the investigation found Muller actually obtained "over $3 million" from people. The other money was obtained by selling mortgages and other alleged business opportunities.

"But the police and the Crown were not in a position to lay charges in relation to those, in those cases."

Ridgeway also said Muller used borrowed money from one person to pay back loans to another. He said frauds are alleged to have been committed back to 2001 but weren't part of the charges before the court.

Muller tried to enter bankruptcy but that was thwarted when police alerted the firm handling the bankruptcy that Muller was involved in fraudulent activity.

He was refused bankruptcy protection.

The big question now is, where is the money.

"The answer is we don't know. We've looked at bank accounts and as of this date we have been unable to locate the large sum of money, if there is any," Ridgeway said.