Judge will sentence July 18
A man convicted of defrauding Okanagan hockey parents out of tens of thousands of dollars will hear his sentence in July, while the trial of his alleged partner begins in November.
Michael Elphicke was convicted following trial in B.C. Supreme Court in Penticton in 2017 of fraud over $5,000, theft over $5,000 and unauthorized management of a lottery scheme.
A sentencing date of July 18 was set Monday.
Elphicke was ordered to attend the sentencing in person after Justice Austin Cullen dismissed an application for Elphicke to hear his sentence via video on April 23.
Elphicke’s medical issues, including kidney failure and a diabetic ulcer requiring amputation of part of his foot, have delayed the sentencing since Elphicke received his conviction in a Calgary hospital following trial.
Crown counsel Patrick Fullerton said in April he plans to argue for jail time, as opposed to house arrest or probation, due to the amount of money involved in the fraud and the public interest in the crimes.
Fullerton intends to call at the sentencing an official from BC Corrections to speak to the level of health care the agency can provide Elphicke in custody.
Elphicke faces a maximum sentence of 14 years for the count of fraud over $5,000.
Loren Reagan, co-accused on all three charges, remains behind bars after being denied bail on March 13.
He is set to go to trial starting in Kelowna on Nov. 5.
After one week in Kelowna, the trial will shift to Penticton for two more weeks.
Reagan was arrested in March in Calgary on a Canada-wide warrant issued when he failed to show for the original trial date in 2017.
During Elphicke’s trial, court heard he and Reagan created the Okanagan Elite Hockey Association in 2010 with the intent of sending teenage hockey players and their parents on a tour of Europe.
The organization and the trip collapsed, but a forensic accountant testified $130,000 raised and contributed by parents was used by Reagan and Elphicke for personal expenses and to start construction on the ill-fated Eckhardt Avenue hockey dorm.