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Con artist heading to prison

Pleaded guilty to fraud, possession of stolen goods

By: Mike McIntyre

Wednesday, Aug. 15, 2012 at 8:26 AM | Comments: 0

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Winnipeg Free Press archives James Cotton: trying to live a glamorous lifestyle

James Cotton had an unusual goal in life: He wanted to be the world's next great con artist.

Now, the Winnipeg man has been sentenced to three years in prison following his latest brush with the law.

Cotton, 35, told court Tuesday he once saw himself as the "second coming" of Frank Abagnale Jr., the notorious U.S. fraudster who was the basis for the movie Catch Me If You Can.

"Different women every night, a different city every night," the well-spoken and self-represented Cotton told provincial court Judge Brent Stewart. He pleaded guilty to several charges of fraud and possession of stolen goods in which he pocketed more than $22,000 of other people's money in 2009 and 2010. He must repay the stolen cash as part of his sentence.

Cotton was working as the treasurer of Gamblers Anonymous in Winnipeg when he began a cheque-kiting scam, in which he wrote numerous cheques to himself, his former wife and even his grandmother. At the same time, Cotton came into possession of 20 stolen cheques that had been written out to various local residents by government agencies. Cotton forged his signature on them and deposited them in his own account.

Cotton said Tuesday he was trying to live a glamorous lifestyle while also battling addiction issues and a gambling problem.

"I only remember about 50 per cent of it," he said while reading from a written statement in court. He described a troubled upbringing on a Manitoba farm that included losing his mother to mental illness, being raised by an abusive father and grandfather, exposure to chemicals and being bullied repeatedly at school. There have also been his own struggles with depression, which nearly led to a suicide attempt a couple of years ago.

Cotton said he also began acting out in "manic" ways, which included giving thousands of dollars to strangers and politicians and destroying his own marriage and relationship with a young daughter.

"I'm sorry to my daughter -- your daddy has failed you," Cotton said Tuesday through tears. "I'm taking full responsibility for these charges. I know it's the right thing to do. There is no excuse. I should have known better.

"I will use my time in prison to better myself."

In 2010, Cotton was fined $40,000 and given two years of probation after pleading guilty to income-tax evasion. Court heard Cotton set up a website called stormysurf.ca and told investors they could make 150 per cent returns on their investment within 10 days. He used the proceeds from the website to build a swanky home in Matlock and paid more than $90,000 for two new vehicles, but never declared income from his web business. The Canada Revenue Agency was tipped off to Cotton's Internet money-making venture by the RCMP.

Cotton also has several prior convictions for fraud, theft and uttering forged documents from the late 1990s.

www.mikeoncrime.com

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