Dishonest bookkeeper sentenced to 90 days
PENTICTON — A former Penticton bookkeeper who gained notoriety when a video of a racial tirade went viral, will be spending weekends in jail after stealing tens of thousands of dollars from a client.
Judith Kendrick, 58, pleaded guilty to one count of fraud over $5,000, which was discovered in March 2016, and was sentenced Tuesday to an intermittent sentence of 90 days.
She will also be required to complete 50 hours of community service during a two-year period of probation.
Crown counsel Ann Lerchs suggested Monday a six-month jail sentence, while defence counsel James Pennington countered with a recommendation of three years’ probation.
Judge Gale Sinclair noted he had a “very wide range” of precedents to consider, and found the Crown’s request was “certainly not out of line.”
Court heard that over a 13month period, Kendrick transferred approximately $65,000 from her client, courier Glen Erhardt, in what Sinclair called “the most unsophisticated way possible.”
“She simply transferred money from his account to hers,” he explained.
Kendrick admitted the fraud to Erhardt after he confronted her, and co-operated fully with police, even providing investigators copies of her bank statements.
Erhardt, who successfully sued her in civil court, has since received $68,000 in restitution via a garnished insurance settlement from Kendrick.
According to a victim impact statement, Erhardt had to sell his home and cash in a life insurance policy to recover from the ordeal, which has also delayed his retirement by five years.
Pennington said his client was separating from her husband at the time of the offences and facing some financial difficulties and depression.
Kendrick recently lost her job at Penticton’s Dollarama after being filmed making inappropriate remarks to a First Nation customer.