A. C. Waite

The offender, Sukhraj Atwal, was convicted of forgery and fraud after trial.

She was an external bookkeeper for Star Plastics Inc. and, over an 8-week period in 2006, forged 97 cheques totaling over one million dollars, resulting in an actual loss of $645,301.16 to the company.

The court considered aggravating factors such as breach of trust, planned and deliberate conduct, and the significant financial loss, and mitigating factors including her age (54), lack of prior record, and generally positive presentence report.

The court rejected the defence's arguments for a conditional sentence based on delay and the victim's alleged "unclean hands." A penitentiary sentence was deemed necessary for general deterrence.

The accused, an accountant for Star Plastics, was charged with forgery and fraud after 97 company cheques totalling over $1 million were issued with the forged signature of the company's vice president.

The Crown alleged the accused misappropriated the funds for her personal benefit.

The defence argued the company's owner authorized the cheques as part of a tax evasion scheme.

The court found the owner's evidence credible that he did not authorize the 97 cheques, despite his involvement in a separate questionable loan arrangement with the accused.

The court concluded the accused forged the cheques and defrauded the company to alleviate her own financial pressures.

The accused was found guilty on both counts.