Vancouver con man winds up in a Dubai prison

source Vancouver Sun

Martin Bender's crime mirrors the way he duped rich locals into handing over cash for discount luxury purchases

German-born confidence man Martin Bender, who used the lure of heavily discounted luxury cars to defraud prominent members of Vancouver society in 2002 and 2003, is now residing in a Dubai jail after stiffing citizens of that country.

The National newspaper in Dubai said Bender's company, V1 Advanced Composite Technologies -- which purportedly built yachts for wealthy clients -- provided a creditor with a cheque for the equivalent of $4.35 million US as security for a loan. However, when the creditor went to cash it, the cheque bounced.

"I thought it was a mistake," Bender told the newspaper during an interview from the Dubai Central Prison in Aweer, where he has been languishing for the past two years.

"I had no idea what was happening. The judge didn't care about the circumstances of the cheque. All he wanted to know was if I had signed the cheque. If so, I was guilty."

The newspaper said that, after Bender went to jail, he defaulted on other obligations: A bank loan that was used to pay for his $68,000 US wedding to an Indonesian woman, credit card debts, money owed to suppliers and employee salaries. As a result, he faces up to 16 more years in prison.

The article is actually quite sympathetic toward Bender. It portrays him as a victim of what amounts to a debtors' prison.

"His situation is one of hundreds of cases in which businessmen and individual borrowers face prison for bouncing cheques," the article stated.

"At the core of the issue is the widespread use of postdated cheques and the fact that United Arab Emirates law considers each bounced cheque or group of bounced cheques as a separate crime. Judges can choose to fine an offender or sentence him to prison for one month to three years for each case."

The newspaper said there has been mounting pressure to address these cases through a specialized civil court, rather than the criminal system.

Having borne witness to Bender's business methods, I'm not nearly as sympathetic.

A native of Hamburg, Bender came to Vancouver in 2001 and set up a jet charter business, Aerojet Air Services (BC) Ltd., at the south terminal of the Vancouver airport.

Several months later, he announced the company had taken delivery of its first Lear jet, a seven-passenger aircraft with a "high-end executive interior in grey leather" and a cruising speed of 520 miles per hour. It was purportedly available for business charter, medical evacuation or all-inclusive dream vacations.

As he was getting his charter business off the ground, Bender began positioning himself to meet and fraternize with Vancouver's most affluent citizens. He walked into Westerly Yacht Sales Inc. in Coal Harbor and introduced himself to the proprietor, Jean Paul Cardinal.

"He had everything down to a T," Cardinal recalled. "I introduced him to a sail manufacturer who specializes in high-end sails for racers, and they were talking the same language. When he talked about cars, they were only high-end cars."

Bender chartered a 47-foot cruising sailboat, worth about $350,000. Coincidentally and fortuitously, the Royal Vancouver Yacht Club was in the middle of a membership drive. He soon became a member.

Bender told his new-found friends and acquaintances that he had connections with luxury automobile distributors in the United States, including Mercedes-Benz and Porsche. He could buy expensive cars from dealerships that had gone into liquidation at heavy discounts, anywhere from one-third to one-half the normal retail price.

He told Cardinal he would get him a new 2002 Porsche Boxster, retail value $75,000, for only $43,000. Cardinal, who had no reason to suspect Bender's motives, provided the full amount up front. Delivery was scheduled for September.

But September came and went and nothing happened: "I was told there were some problems, that this was an American car and it had to be Canadianized. The dashboard had to be converted to kilometres and other minor alterations. It would take a few more weeks," Cardinal recalled.

Bender also befriended Gerry Hooper, owner of Promark Aviation Services Inc., located next door to Bender's charter business.

Hooper agreed to lend Bender $41,000 US to assist in the purchase of a Mercedes, two BMWs and three Audis, which had purportedly been pre-sold to the Vancouver law firm Clark Wilson. In return, Bender would repay him $67,305 US.

As security, Bender gave him a post-dated cheque for the full amount drawn on Canadian Western Bank in Vancouver. However, when Hooper tried to negotiate the cheque, it bounced.

Bender claimed there had been confusion over wiring funds from his bank in Switzerland. To assuage Hooper's concerns, Bender provided him with a copy of an e-mail from Jeff Smith, an employee at Canadian Western Bank, confirming the bank would issue a draft for the full amount to Hooper's company. According to a court affidavit, Hooper later learned that Jeff Smith "did not exist as an employee of the Canadian Western Bank."

It soon became apparent that Bender's charter aircraft business was also a mirage. Alan Sabey, a pilot Bender had hired to fly his jet, said Transport Canada refused to license Aerojet as a commercial carrier because Bender was not a Canadian citizen, so Aerojet sub-chartered the Lear jet through an unrelated licensed operator.

The jet was eventually taken back by the leasing company, and Sabey was left with unpaid wages.

By the spring of 2003, the pressure was mounting. Bender vacated his office and later sent Cardinal an e-mail saying he was in Southeast Asia, but would soon return to Vancouver.

I also received an e-mail from Bender. He was not happy with my story about his escapades: "My lawyers in London -- the largest law firm on the globe -- received instructions from my end on Saturday June 7, 2003 to file a lawsuit against Mr. David Baines ... demanding a compensation of $5 million," he wrote.

"In the meantime, I've also contacted several newspapers in Canada to assist me by publishing the truth about the issues released about me and highlight the methods of publishing from The Vancouver Sun. I've received a reply from one of the most reputable newspapers in Canada this morning and I will release all relevant information to them shortly."

He provided elaborate explanations as to why his air-charter business failed and why the car deals were never completed. He promised to repay everybody as soon as possible.

But Bender never did show up. Neither did the lawsuit, nor the redeeming newspaper stories, nor the thousands of dollars that he owed people.

Now he is pleading to Dubai authorities for a reprieve: "I've been able to generate a lot of money in my life," he told the National. "Give me the chance to pay it. Let me work."