Employment Insurance fraudster jailed for eight months

An EI fraudster who used the money to support a party-filled lifestyle will be incarcerated for the next eight months.

Steve Vaillancourt was also sentenced to a two-year probationary period by Justice Paul Dunnigan of the Court of Quebec at the Sherbrooke courthouse Wednesday.

Vaillancourt made false EI declarations between 2013 and 2016 and fraudulently received more than $30,000 in Employment Insurance benefits.

Vaillancourt admitted his guilt to the 72 charges against him, sequentially divided between 2013 and 2016. He provided false telephone statements that did not declare his income.

The 53-year-old admitted that he made several false or misleading statements every two weeks claiming to earn less than he was receiving. He also admitted to falsely claiming that he was not working when he was.

In addition to imprisonment, there is the minimum fine for stealing money from Canadian taxpayers. Counsel for the federal crown and defense had suggested that the minimum sentence should be $200 on each count, or $14,400. Vaillancourt must also repay the sum fraudulently obtained.

By his own admission, Vaillancourt told the pre-sentence report author that this tax payer money was being used for a night life of drinking, drugs and gambling, as well as to feed a habit of online relationships.