May 23, 2017 — In June of 2015, three men stepped out of a summer day thick with flies and into the Beaverdam Lake, N.S., cottage of lobster dealer Wayne Banks.
It wasn’t a casual visit.
They had arrived unannounced at his doorstep, claiming that in the space of about 10 days, someone had ripped them off to the tune of $1.6 million.
“Have a seat, you fellas,” said Banks. “I think I know why you’re here. But there ain’t nothing I can tell you.”
The secret recording of that conversation, later provided to CBC News by one of the men, offers a glimpse into a large alleged fraud case, one that reveals the money and high stakes at play in Canada’s most lucrative lobster industry.
Only later would local RCMP team up with the federal Serious and Organized Crime unit to launch a joint investigation into what they called a complex criminal operation, one some feared could have broader ramifications on the industry.
But on that June day two years ago, one name threaded its way through the conversation — Wayne Banks’s younger brother, convicted fraudster Terry Banks.
“How many families get destroyed because of Terry f–king Banks again?” said one of the visiting men in exasperation.
“I don’t understand why Terry’s still alive. I don’t.”
Last week, RCMP charged Terry Banks, 51, with four counts of fraud over $5,000 and three counts of theft over $5,000 involving allegations he was part of a scheme that stole about $3 million from four different seafood companies.
His 69-year-old brother, Wayne, faces six fraud and theft charges. A third man — Chris Malone, 52 — is charged with one count of theft and one count of fraud. All three men return to court Aug. 24.
None of the allegations has been proven in court.
RCMP Supt. Martin Marin said Tuesday that those charged had a “substantial reach and influence on the local, national and international seafood market.”
“Had this fraudulent activity continued, Nova Scotia’s economy and seafood industry could have been negatively impacted,” he said in a news release.