A federal magistrate judge on Wednesday ordered the pre-trial release, to home detention, of a man charged in a multi-million dollar fraud scheme.Federal prosecutors had argued to keep Byron "Father Barney" Canada, 62, who was arrested Friday, behind bars until his March 9 jury trial date.
Canada faces 31 counts of fraud in connection with a scheme to defraud commercial real estate developers of more than $2.7 million.
But at a brief hearing Wednesday, Assistant U.S. Attorney Donald Schmid said he had reached an agreement with Canada's attorney, Jeffrey Sanford, that Canada should be allowed to post $7,500 cash bond and be released to his south-side South Bend home with electronic monitoring until his trial.
Canada also must surrender his passport, if he has one, and agree not to seek one if he does not.
Magistrate Judge Christopher Nuechterlein agreed to the requests, and ordered the electronic monitoring to be delayed until Dec. 23 so that Canada's home telephone account can be reconfigured for compatibility with electronic monitoring equipment.
Canada has claimed to be a priest but his denomination remained unclear.
The Rev. Robert Zahrt of Fort Wayne, Metropolitan Archbishop of the Orthodox Catholic Church of America, an offshoot of the Roman Catholic Church, said that Canada had been affiliated with his church but left it early this year. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
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