Probation for fraud, theft convictions

A local man who took former MPP Tim Hudak on his first Uber ride when the ride sharing program was unveiled at a press conference in Niagara Falls in the fall of 2015 has been convicted of embezzling more than $5,000 from a former employer.

“He told me, ‘Look, the rent has got to get paid, and it’s extra money that I can use to pay down the rent and put away in some savings,’” the former leader of the opposition said of his driver at the photo op.

What Hudak likely didn’t know at that time was that Justin Burrows had been charged 10 months earlier with ripping off a different employer to the tune of more than $5,000.

The 26-year-old pleaded guilty in September 2016 to two counts of fraud under $5,000 and a single count of theft under $5,000.

Sentencing had been adjorned a number of times in order to give the defendant, a first-time offender, an opportunity to raise restitution.

In an Ontario Court of Justice in St. Catharines on Thursday, Judge Hugh Atwood was told Burrows had set aside only $360 in restitution since he is focussing on paying down his student loan.

“There’s been almost no attempt at restitution,” the judge said, adding he found it odd the defendant was paying his student loan even though he was “staring down the barrel of facility jail.”

“But people can make bad deci- sions, otherwise I wouldn’t have a job.”

The judge imposed a two-month conditional sentence and placed Burrows on probation for two years. He also ordered him to repay his victim.

Defence counsel Andrew Burton said his client lost his job at Apple after the company learned of the criminal charges against him but has since found new employment.

“He’s a young man who has skills, who has hope for his future,” he said.

Court was told the owner of Jump Plus, an electronics store, contacted police in January 2015 after he discovered there was inventory missing from the Pen Centre business.

Burrows told the owner several computers had been purchased and then returned and were back on the showroom floor. The owner checked the books and determined there was no record of the items being returned.

Police later determined Burrows had been submitting merchandise refunds on to his own debit card.

The day before Uber was unveiled in Niagara Falls, company officials said all drivers must pass background checks that include both a national criminal record check of federal RCMP databases and a drivers’ motor vehicle records screen.