Stealing from credit union results in jail time

A 25-year-old Charlottetown woman was sentenced to 10 months in jail Friday for stealing more than $100,000 from the credit union where she used to work.

Abby Martina Gallant will also be on probation for three years once she has served her jail time.

Gallant pleaded guilty in May to stealing $117,682.15 from six customers of the Provincial Credit Union in Charlottetown during a two-year period ending in October 2016.

The money was stolen through 134 fraudulent transactions.

“The gravity of the offence is certainly severe,’’ said provincial court judge Jeff Lantz.

“Denunciation and deterrence are paramount in these cases… There has to be meaningful consequences in cases like this.’’

The Crown recommended Gallant be sentenced to between 12 and 15 months in jail while Gallant’s lawyer, Chris Montigny, tried unsuccessfully to build a case for a suspended sentence. Gallant faced a maximum sentence of 10 years in jail.

All of the clients have been reimbursed in full but the company that insures the credit union is seeking more than $109,000 in restitution from Gallant.

Montigny said there are “active attempts’’ by his client to reimburse the money but concedes she faces a considerable financial challenge in doing so.

Gallant became employed at Provincial Credit Union in the summer of 2013 through a co-op program.

She left in 2016 to attend law school in Australia but still continued to make fraudulent transactions from the accounts of clients of the credit union.

Montigny told the court the string of fraud “can generously be described as stupid,’’ adding Gallant’s criminal activity was bound to be discovered.

“She was in a position of trust and we accept that that was an aggravating factor,’’ he added.

Court heard Gallant would spend the money quickly each time she defrauded a client, buying personal items and going on trips.

Montigny suggested his client’s mental health struggles, including having an obsessive-compulsive behaviour, played a role in her committing fraud.

Gallant, who sobbed while hearing the sentence, appeared to have strong family support in attendance.

A pre-sentence report noted Gallant was about seven when her family went through a significant crisis and at age 15 was delivered a devastating blow losing her father to cancer.

She is described as being in a stable relationship and engaging in therapy.