By Tyler Olsen - Vernon Morning Star - February 06, 2008
Vernon’s former mayor was led out of British Columbia Provincial Court in handcuffs Tuesday after being sentenced to nine months in jail for defrauding a dentist of nearly $70,000 and for forging fake invoices. Sean Harvey winked at his father as he was handcuffed after Judge Ellen Burdett delivered the sentence. Harvey pled guilty to one charge of fraud over $5,000 and one charge of forgery. Burdett said that in 2003 and 2004, while he was mayor, Harvey had concocted a sophisticated, “well-executed scheme,” through which he defrauded a Vernon dentist out of $69,795. “Mr. Harvey not only committed fraud against his partner, but also against his friend,” said Burdett. “Greed appears to be the motivating factor and the desire to live a lifestyle above his means. “He had many opportunities to stop but didn’t.”
The court heard that Harvey and Chris Laidlaw were partners with the aim of developing a plot of Armstrong land. Harvey told Laidlaw that he owed money for work done on the plot of land. However, one of the companies Laidlaw ended up paying was, in fact, created by a friend of Harvey’s while the other was controlled by Harvey himself. Neither did any work on the property. Another company was owed money but the funds Laidlaw gave Harvey to pay for the work were never delivered. When Laidlaw became suspicious and asked for invoices, Harvey had someone create fake documents. In delivering her statement, the judge cited Harvey’s breach of a previous conditional sentence for funds misappropriated from the City of Vernon while he was mayor. And she said that aggravating the circumstances was the fact that the fraud was perpetrated against someone who considered Harvey to be a friend.
Earlier, Crown lawyer Kevin Gillett had asked for a sentence that would see Harvey spend time behind bars. “There is no question that the amount of the offence is an extremely relevant factor,” he said. Harvey’s lawyer, Ian McTavish, asked for a conditional sentence, stating that Harvey was sorry and was living beyond his means at the time of the fraud. “He was a young man running with a crowd...who were much more affluent financially than he was,” McTavish told the court. Before being sentenced, Harvey spoke briefly. “I take full responsibility for my actions, they were reprehensible,” said Harvey. He said he had apologized to Laidlaw and added, “I’m looking forward to paying my debt to society and getting on with the rest of my life.” In addition to the jail time, Harvey will have to provide a DNA sample and pay Laidlaw back the remaining $44,095.
No comments:
Post a Comment