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by Mike Caswell

John Edwards, one of the alleged masterminds of the massive CMKM Diamonds Inc. fraud, is once again asking to have his mental health evaluated before he goes on trial. His lawyers claim that several medical events the 73-year-old has suffered in prison point to a deterioration in his mental state. The deterioration is such that he is no longer able to help with his defence, his lawyers say.

The request comes with Mr. Edwards facing a criminal trial at which prosecutors are expected to claim that he and others, including Canada's Urban Casavant, ran a two-year pump-and-dump with CMKM. During the scheme, the men allegedly sold hundreds of billions of unregistered shares. According to the government, they reaped $60-million in illegal profits from the scheme. (All figures are in U.S. dollars.)

Just getting Mr. Edwards to that trial could be an effort for prosecutors, however. In a motion that Mr. Edwards's lawyers filed on May 16, 2016, they describe a number of medical episodes that he has suffered in prison, including a seizure and memory loss. The events are indicative of dementia. The first of those episodes occurred on March 28, 2016, when another inmate observed Mr. Edwards sitting with a blank stare and unresponsive. Medical personnel placed him under observation, but at his request they allowed Mr. Edwards to return to his dormitory.

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