TORONTO — A romance con-artist deserves at least six years in prison for defrauding a woman of hundreds of thousands of dollars, leaving her feeling broken and suicidal, his sentencing hearing was told on Monday.
Superior Court Justice Beth Allen had convicted Rootenberg, of Thornhill, Ont., of defrauding Smith, despite his contention that frequent strip searches in detention had violated his rights and that the judge was biased. The Smith scam came shortly after Rootenberg had finished serving a four-year penitentiary term for a 2009 conviction. It was, Flagg said, not a commercial transaction gone sour.
“Ms. Smith, as Your Honour found, failed to protect herself,” Badali said. “[But] I’m not saying she should be blamed for it.” Smith, who initially believed she was involved with a Shaun Rothberg, complained to police about 18 months after meeting him when she accidentally discovered his real identity.
Toronto police initially charged the repeat offender with defrauding a second woman, Dr. Kim Barker, but those charges were dropped.
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