E. Carley

The offender, a tax protester, was convicted of eight counts of improperly claiming or obtaining refunds under the Income Tax Act.

He devised a sophisticated scheme using trusts and corporations to evade taxes and fraudulently claim refunds, personally profiting over $100,000 and attempting to secure over $600,000 for a client.

The court sentenced him to a global term of 24 months imprisonment, less 7 months enhanced credit for pre-sentence custody and COVID-19 lockdown hardships, leaving 17 months to serve.

The court also imposed mandatory fines totaling $499,919, rejecting a conditional sentence order due to the need for denunciation and deterrence.

The Federal Crown and a court-appointed Receiver applied to vary a forfeiture order that required the destruction of seized electronic devices and documents, as the CRA and the Receiver sought access to them for ongoing investigations into an illegal pyramid scheme.

The court held it lacked jurisdiction to use certiorari to set aside the destruction order made under s. 490.1(1) of the Criminal Code because a statutory right of appeal to the Court of Appeal existed.

However, the court granted the Receiver's application under s. 490.5, declaring its interest unaffected and suspending the destruction order, and allowed the appeal to set aside the destruction order made under s. 490(9).

The applicant, charged with importing cocaine, brought a Rowbotham application seeking state-funded counsel after being refused Legal Aid.

The court found that while the charges were serious and counsel was essential for a fair trial, the applicant failed to prove she was indigent.

The court rejected her evidence regarding her financial circumstances, noting unexplained frequent international travel and large cash transfers while purportedly living solely on disability benefits.

The application was dismissed.