The accused, a 47-year-old American permanent resident and former Chief Financial Officer of Branham Group, was convicted after trial of fraud under section 380(1)(a) of the Criminal Code.
Between December 2009 and August 2010, she wrote 16 fraudulent cheques to herself totalling $83,322.68 and 38 fraudulent cheques to her spouse totalling $110,169.90, for a total of $193,492.58 drawn from the company account.
The fraud caused significant financial and emotional harm to the business owners.
The sentencing judge imposed an 18-month custodial sentence followed by 18 months probation, with a $100,000 restitution order, balancing the serious nature of the breach of trust and large-scale fraud against the offender's medical conditions and first-time offender status.
