The father of local YouTube singing star Maria Aragon says they will be staying with her Toronto-based manager despite the fact that he is facing fraud charges.
Toronto police and the Ontario Securites Commission charged Steven Nowack in October with five counts of fraud more than $5,000 and two counts of uttering false documents.
A Toronto police news release states that a man, representing himself as a foreign currency trader, convinced people to invest money through him in the foreign-currency exchange market. Although the man claimed to make large profits, no investors received any returns on their money, police said.
Five people were defrauded of about $7.1 million, police said.
Nowack works as manager to Maria Aragon, who first gained attention in 2011 when Lady Gaga praised her for her cover of “Born This Way.”
"Of course I was really, really shocked, and I didn't know how to feel really," Aragon said about her reaction to hearing about the charges.
Maria’s father Veni Aragon said Nowack has been a good manager to his daughter and they have no plans on finding another.
“As a person, me and my family, we can’t judge him because since we’ve known him, he’s done his job very well for Maria,” he said. “So we have no right to judge Steven until he’s proven guilty.”
Veni Aragon said they first heard about the fraud charges through a friend. When they next saw Nowack, he was initially reluctant to talk about the charges, Aragon said.
“So I said, ‘Steven, look to my eyes. Are you not going to tell something about you? And he said, ‘Can we talk outside?’ Then we went to our garage and we sit in my car, and then he tells everything. He cried.”
Nowack said he is innocent. "I am unequivocally not guilty. I am defending the charges vigorously," he said.
He also insists the charges against him won’t harm Maria’s career. "I am enormously confident that her talent will speak for itself and my personal issues will be viewed as separate,” he said.
The charges have already had consequences for Maria Aragon. A performance at a Philippines typhoon relief concert in Toronto was cancelled because of the charges against Nowack.
"When they heard about Steven they told us that they won't put Maria in that show," said Veni.
Still, the Aragon’s say they are sticking by Nowack, at least for now. "If he's proven guilty then that's it. Maybe we'll get another, but as long as he's not proven guilty we stay for Steven," said Veni.
Maria said she relies on her family, and as long as her parents trust Nowack, so will she.
Nowack helped connect Maria with producer Narada Michael Walden, who has produced songs for Whitney Houston, Maria Carey and Aretha Franklin. Walden and Aragon are working together on a song, “United We Stand,” to benefit the victims of Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines.
Toronto police and the Ontario Securities Commission are continuing their investigation, which they say is international in scope.
