LiveEnt Founder Released

Garth Drabinsky, who co-founded LiveEnt with former partner Myron Gottlieb, was convicted in 2009 on two counts of fraud and one count of forgery after a judge found the men had manipulated the company’s statements for years to attract investors.

Investors lost an estimated $500 million when the publicly traded company went under.

Drabinsky served part of his sentence in prison before he was released to a halfway house in 2012.

In its decision, the parole board overseeing Drabinsky’s case noted the man is still barred from owning, operating or managing a business, and from contacting his former associate, according to CTV News.

Any risk to public safety would be “manageable,” the board added.

Drabinsky told the board he’s been working as an entertainment consultant for a company set up in the trust of his family since he was granted parole, though he apparently hasn’t been paid a full salary.

That disclosure raised the question of how he plans to repay nearly $7 million he borrowed from friends to cover his legal expenses and whether he would return to crime to generate cash.

But Drabinsky swore never to repeat his “harmful actions,” adding “they are indelible and will haunt me for the rest of my days,” CTV reported.