A Windsor Junction man is behind bars for stealing close to $290,000 from Mason Apples and its sister company Select Transport Ltd.
In Windsor Provincial Court Oct. 17, Judge Claudine MacDonald sentenced Glen Hughes, 53, to one year in jail for one conviction of fraud over $5,000 for misappropriating $289,548 from the family-owned and operated businesses in Three Mile Plains between October 2007 and September 2009.
In presenting a joint recommendation for sentencing to MacDonald, Crown attorney Bill Fergusson argued that jail time would be the most appropriate sentence for Hughes, a man with a previous fraud-related conviction on his record. Hughes was handed a 12-month conditional sentence for laundering $60,000 out of a small business in Halifax in 2006.
Fergusson said it is in the public’s best interest for Hughes to be in custody, rather than out on probation, seeking employment as a bookkeeper for another business.
Hughes wrote several fraudulent cheques and transferred funds from the Mason Apples and Select Transport accounts he was responsible for as bookkeeper to personal credit cards. He spent close to $35,000 at Portland Street Honda, put a $40,000 payment down on a property in Halifax, stacked personal bank accounts and paid $2,900 to Revenue Canada.
“The only thing to do is put him in custody,” said Fergusson.
The Crown attorney expressed doubt that ordering Hughes to repay the money he stole would in fact reunite the company with their lost funds.
“The money is already gone.”
A victim impact statement filed by Stephen Wells, the president and owner of Mason Apples, said Hughes’ dishonest actions have harmed a family, a local business and the community.
In the statement, Wells said he hoped the sentence imposed would be strict, and send a clear message that will deter others in Hughes’ position from breaching their employer’s trust and committing fraud in the future.
Standing before the judge, Hughes thanked Fergusson and the RCMP for their hard work, and apologized.
“I am truly sorry,” he said, addressing MacDonald. “I know this has affected a lot of people and I am sorry.”
MacDonald admitted that she found it difficult to determine if Hughes’ apology was sincere, particularly because he made no mention of the employers he betrayed.
In addition to imposing the recommended jail sentence, MacDonald issued a stand alone restitution order in the amount of $224,548 to be paid to Wells, minus $65,000 paid to the company through insurance, and signed a DNA order.
MacDonald advised Hughes against committing a third fraud-related offence.
“You now have two fraud-related convictions. You can be sure that if you engage in anything of this nature again, you will face a lengthy term of imprisonment.”
