Former RCMP intelligence official found guilty of violating secrets act

A jury has found Cameron Ortis, the former RCMP intelligence official accused of leaking secret information to police targets, guilty of all charges against him.

The former civilian RCMP member faced six charges in total, including multiple counts under the Security of Information Act, the law meant to protect Canada's secrets.

The Crown suggested they'll be seeking a sentence in the range of 20 years.

"For someone in Mr. Ortis' position, nothing less of a very severe sentence would be appropriate," Crown prosecutor Judy Kliewer told reporters outside the courthouse.

Justice Robert Maranger revoked Ortis's bail. A sentencing hearing will be held in early January.

Defence lawyer Mark Ertel said he was "shocked and extremely disappointed" by the jury's decision.

"I've had my faith in the jury system shaken before. I'm really at a loss for words. I cant believe what happened," Ertel told reporters. He said he plans to appeal the decision.

The Ortis trial was the first to test Security of Information Act charges in court. The trial heard from nearly a dozen witnesses and received more than 500 pages of evidence. Some of the evidence has been redacted due to national security concerns.

Kliewer said prosecuting the case was "very tricky."

"It's like you're walking on eggshells the entire time ... because of the national security issues, because you're worried about what you can and cannot put into evidence," she said.

Kliewer framed the guilty verdicts as a victory for the protection of secret information and the Security of Information Act. She said Ortis's trial proved it is possible to have fair and public court proceedings while still protecting secret information.

Ertel argued that forcing Ortis to defend himself without disclosing certain information was unfair.

"If you can't say who gave you information or what the information was, and then you're found guilty of acting without authority — what other rational conclusion could be drawn other than you defended yourself with one hand tied behind your back? That's not our system of justice," he said.

Ortis showed little emotion as the jury read out their decision. He hugged both of his lawyers after hearing the verdict.

The Crown argued Ortis used his position within the RCMP — leading a unit that had access to Canadian and allied intelligence — to leak sensitive information to police targets in early 2015.

Ortis claimed during his trial that he was acting to protect Canada from a "grave threat" passed along by a foreign entity. 

Ortis was accused of leaking special operational information "without authority" to Phantom Secure CEO Vincent Ramos — who sold encrypted cellphones to organized crime members — and Salim Henareh and Muhammad Ashraf, two men police suspected of being agents of an international money-laundering network with ties to terrorists.

Ortis was accused of sending the men Canadian intelligence, including RCMP assets and documents from the Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada (FINTRAC). He also was accused of leaking a report put together by the Five Eyes, an intelligence-sharing alliance that includes the U.S., U.K., Australia, New Zealand and Canada.

In an email shown to the jury, Ortis asked Ramos for $20,000 for more intelligence. No evidence suggested Ortis ever received money.

The 51-year-old was also accused of trying to leak information to Farzam Mehdizadeh. One RCMP witness told Ortis's trial he believes Mehdizadeh worked with "the most important money launderers in the world."

Ortis said he was working to protect Canada

During his four days of in-camera testimony earlier this month, Ortis claimed he was actually working on a secret operation based on information from a foreign agency.

According to a transcript of that testimony, the alleged operation, which Ortis said he called "OR Nudge," was intended to lure criminals to an encrypted email service to allow authorities to intercept their messages. Outside of the courtroom, the email service called Ortis's claims "completely false" and "salacious."

Ortis, who is permanently bound to secrecy, said he didn't loop in anyone else from the RCMP on his plan because his foreign counterpart shared information with him on the condition that it be kept private.

He also testified the police targets had moles within Canadian law enforcement agencies.