After a lengthy investigation, the owners of a St. John's construction company have been charged with fraud.

Myles-Leger owners Randall Myles Clarke and William Leger Clarke, the company's comptroller, Terence Reardon, and their lawyer, Bill Parsons, have all been charged.

They're each facing 38 counts of fraud over $5,000, and one count of conspiracy to commit fraud.

Myles-Leger was involved in the development and construction of residential subdivisions and condominiums.

The owners and Reardon will appear in court on Dec. 18, while Parsons is due in court on Jan. 8, 2013.

Long history

The Myles-Leger story dates back to 2005 when the company was involved in a bankruptcy debacle.

The owners got $14 million from Parsons to finance their real estate development projects — mortgage money that Parsons was holding in trust for his clients.

The alleged victims are couples, individuals, a contractor, a building supply company, and most major banks.

The RCMP have been investigating the case for the past seven years.

Sgt. Marc Coulombe said it's been a long, drawn-out process because police had to go to court to get the documentation they needed.

"Commercial or financial investigation, they are very lengthy. There's usually large amounts of documents that have to be reviewed, and sorted through," he said.

"In this case, it involved the Law Society [of Newfoundland and Labrador]. The information we required had to be petitioned before the courts to do client-solicitor privilege, and that took a long time."

Parsons was disbarred for his actions in the bankruptcy.