Riad Tallim

The accused was charged with fraud over $5,000 after the complainant's bank accounts were used in a scheme involving counterfeit cheques.

The complainant alleged the accused manipulated her into opening accounts and withdrawing money, while the accused denied any involvement.

Although the trial judge found the complainant credible and disbelieved the accused, the lack of independent confirmatory evidence due to an inadequate police investigation left the court with a reasonable doubt.

The accused was acquitted.

The accused, an employer, was found guilty by a jury of five offences involving extortion and criminal harassment against three former employees.

The accused falsely accused the employees of theft and threatened them with police action, deportation, and harm to their families in Iran if they did not pay him large sums of money.

The court rejected the defence's argument to stay the criminal harassment charges under the Kienapple principle, finding the offences occurred on different dates.

Emphasizing denunciation and deterrence due to the accused's exploitation of the victims' vulnerabilities and abuse of authority, the court sentenced the accused to three years of incarceration concurrent for each offence, along with restitution orders totaling over $50,000.