The offender, a law clerk and licensed paralegal, was convicted of fraud over $5,000 and uttering a forged document after defrauding her employer, a lawyer, of over $100,000 and providing a fabricated divorce order to a client.
The co-offender assisted in the fraud by cashing cheques.
The court found the law clerk's actions constituted a severe breach of trust with devastating impacts on the victims.
Despite being a first-time offender, the court held that a conditional sentence would not adequately address the principles of denunciation and deterrence.
The law clerk was sentenced to 18 months in custody.
The co-offender received a 10-month conditional sentence due to exceptional medical circumstances.
