Toronto Criminal Lawyer - Workplace Fraud charges withdrawn

Malcolm's Case — Workplace Fraud — Withdrawn

Client: Malcolm K., Accused
Complainant: Malcolm's employer, the Big Bank
Charge: Make False Credit Statement, Criminal Code, s. 362(1)(d)

Background: At age 27, Malcolm got hit with a double whammy. Three weeks before seeing me, he had been dismissed by his employer, the Big Bank, for not following the rules regarding money transfers. Not long afterwards, the Bank had discovered that four car loans Malcolm had approved turned out to be fraudulent. They had lost over $100,000. The police and the Bank couldn't directly implicate Malcolm in these frauds. However, they did discover that, in processing one of the loans, Malcolm had a colleague override a duplicate Social Insurance Number. Unfortunately, the S.I.N. that Malcolm had approved turned out to be false. As a result, they charged Malcolm with making a false statement on a credit application.

Goals: Malcolm had already started his own business in the financial sector, and was doing quite well catering to his own ethnic community. He was sick with worry, though, about being convicted and having his business ruined. His instructions to me were simple: he wanted the charged dismissed or withdrawn.

Strategy: Through the disclosure process, we were provided with a mountain of material from the Crown and the police. If we had measured the strength of the Crown's case with a weigh scales, we would have folded our cards early and entered a guilty plea for a light sentence. But it's important not to lose the forest for the trees. In reviewing the Crown's case, I found a fatal flaw in the way the case had been prepared. Their case centred around an allegation that Malcolm knowingly submitted a false S.I.N. on a credit application. Central to proving their case was proving that the S.I.N. was actually false. They could have done this quite easily with an affidavit from Human Resources Canada. However, no affidavit was disclosed. Once I discovered the problem, my strategy was to minimize my contact with the Crown's office and to get the matter on for trial as soon as possible. The less attention Malcolm's case got the better. I obviously could not tell the Crown about the problem in advance of the trial, as it could be easily corrected. We scheduled the trial and bided our time.

Results: Eleven months after Malcolm was charged, we walked into the Court at Old City Hall. The trial was to commence at 10 a.m., so I spoke to the Crown at 9:50 a.m. I told her the charge should be withdrawn. She asked why? I told her that I thought she couldn't prove that the S.I.N. was false. She told me she would consider the matter and see me in Court. At 10:03 a.m., she walked into Court, said nothing to me, and asked that the matter be called. The Judge asked Malcolm to step forward. The Crown indicated that they were not in a position to prove their case, and asked that the charge be withdrawn.