18 additional charges for London financial advisor accused of $2M fraud

A former London financial advisor accused of defrauding clients of nearly $2 million has had a total of 18 new charges laid against him since his arrest in early September.

Court documents show the new charges being faced by Robert Randall Hawken, 66, are individualized to each of his alleged victims, many of which are couples that were named in the initial two charges filed after his arrest.

Hawken was first arrested on Sep. 12, 2024, with police alleging victims were defrauded of a collective $1,988,000 between 2003 and 2024. The financial advisor who formerly operated Dufferin Financial Group is accused of collecting investments from victims without ever investing the money he obtained, police said at the time. 

Initial charges laid against Hawken were fraud over $5,000 and posession of property obtained by crime over $5,000.

The bulk of the new charges were filed to the London Ontario Court of Justice on Oct. 3. A final charge was filed with the court on Nov. 1, with court documents pertaining to that final charge showing Hawken was again arrested on Oct. 23 and released on an undertaking.

All 18 are charges of fraud over $5,000 with the stated victims being couples, individuals, and in one case an organization.

Several of the newly filed charges list the same complainants as the seven civil suits that have also been filed against Hawken this year. Many of the civil suits list his wife, Cheryl Hawken, as a co-defendant. Some also list Asmaral Holdings, a company Hawken owns.

Since new charges were laid, the list of complainants against Hawken has grown from 24 to 28.

The accused is due for an appearance in court on Nov. 26.