Former mayor slapped with six new charges

By NATALIE BANK October 4, 2007 Vernon Courier

A former Vernon mayor is back in trouble with the law. Sean Harvey, who spent a week in jail earlier this year for breaching his house arrest, has been charged with one count of forgery and five counts of fraud relating to his business dealings with a local dentist dating back to 2003. On Wednesday the RCMP‘s commercial crime division in Kelowna revealed that Harvey will appear in Vernon court next month to answer to the charges. Each count carries a maximum penalty of 10 years. Harvey was charged on Tuesday with defrauding Vernon dentist Dr. Chris Laidlaw out of more than $5,000 on five occasions. The alleged fraud occurred on dates ranging from Jan. 15, 2003 to Oct. 19, 2004. Harvey and Laidlaw were once business partners.

Sgt. Glen Penner of the commercial crime division said the charges are not related to Harvey‘s career as a local politician. “The allegations do pertain to activities that stem from his business dealings in Vernon.” Penner would not give details about the exact amount Harvey allegedly scammed from Laidlaw. According to court documents obtained by the Vernon Daily Courier, shows the forgery charge stems from an incident involving fake invoices for Seescape Management Consulting Group in early 2005. The investigation that resulted in these latest charges began in August 2005. “We received a complaint from the public and as a result of that complaint our investigation started,” Penner said. Crown counsel approved all of the charges submitted by the commercial crime division, Penner said.

Last year Harvey made headlines when Laidlaw launched a civil suit against him claiming he‘d been swindled out of thousands of dollars. Harvey agreed to an out of court settlement of $90,000. Neither Harvey or Laidlaw could be reached for comment. Harvey is set to appear in court in Vernon on Nov. 14. Harvey stepped down as mayor of Vernon in the summer of 2005 after admitting he misused his city expense account to pay for personal items and trips. He was later sentenced to house arrest and ordered to pay back nearly $14,000 to the City of Vernon.