'Magic Lady' behind $110M Ponzi scheme going to jail after losing last shot at appeal

A former Vancouver notary who ran a $110-million Ponzi scheme has been ordered to surrender herself after Canada's highest court dismissed her application for leave to appeal on Wednesday.

Rashida Samjiwas convicted on fraud charges forscammingnearly 300 investors, leading themto believe their money was being invested in a winery's planned expansion.

She was sentenced to six years in prison on Sept. 28, 2016.

Now 65, Samjihad been free on bail while she applied for more time to appeal tothe Supreme Court of Canada.

On Wednesday, the court dismissed thatapplication bringing her to the end of the road for appeal options.

The dismissal means Samji will begin serving her six-year prison sentence, as she was out on bail pending the decision.

Rhoda Witherly, the president of the Society of Notaries Public of B.C., said the news came as a relief.

"I think the gut reaction is that we're pleased that it's finished it's been forever," she said.

"We're really, at this point, glad now all the people involved can kind of see some closure on it."

Samjilied with 'eyes wide open': judge

The Ponzischeme came to light in 2012,nearly 10 years after it began.

With Samji at the helm, investors were told a winerygroup needed collateral to get loans and credits to pay for its expansion.

The cash was supposed to stay in Samji's notary trust account, with victims promised returns as high as 35 per cent in the early days of the scheme.

In reality, the investorswere paying each other.

Samjionce said she was dubbed the"magic lady" for her ability to bring investors on board includingher own friends andfamily.

Delivering his guilty verdict in 2016, provincial court JudgeGregory Rideout describedSamji'sscam as "monumental deceit."

"Sheknew exactly what she was doing and went forward witheyes wideopen," the judge said.

The day before she was sentenced,Samjistood before a judge andapologizedfor what she'd done.

"The clocks cannot be turned back," she said, dressed in head-to-toe black.

"It might sound futile, but I am truly sorry for the loss, pain and grief endured by the investors."

In 2015,the B.C. Securities Commission finedSamji$33 million for the same scheme.

At the time, the association said it was the biggest Ponzi scheme it had ever heard.

Samjihad tried to claim that criminal charges on top of that penalty amounted to double jeopardy meaningshe was wrongfully being prosecuted twice for the same crimes.

Rideoutrejected her bid, saying the fine didn't begin to address her "moral blameworthiness."

Samji was also ordered to pay victims more than$10 million in restitution.

The Supreme Court of Canada did notprovide reasons for dismissing her application.

With files from Jason Proctor