It's going to be a tough Christmas for Terry Ellis the 61 year old paralegal that was convicted of supporting a criminal organization by helping to swindle unsuspecting real estate investors out of nearly $30 million. 

Her participation in what is believed to be the biggest mortgage fraud in Alberta history; involving over 280 real estate transactions and 19 different banks, has her sitting in a jail cell waiting for sentencing instead of getting ready for the holidays. 

"Ellis denied any involvement in the mortgage frauds committed by the co-conspirators. However, the evidence of her actions in this case speaks much louder than her words,"Court of Queen's Bench Justice Gerald Verville

Ellis has reached a notorious first; this may be the first time in Canadian history that a criminal has been convicted of committing economic crimes for the benefit of a criminal organization. The law under which she was charged was passed in January 2002 and is generally used to convict criminals who commit drug crimes for gangs.

Though we may feel badly for this grandmotherly lady and her plight these holidays we should feel sorrier for the people her and her gang of defrauders have swindled and possibly financially ruined. They are having a much rougher Christmas trying to figure out how they will pay back all the money they owe.

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