Huskies team co-founders found not guilty of fraud
A couple accused of defrauding the Peterborough Huskies team have been cleared of all charges.
“There is no evidence of a criminal offence,” Justice Jennifer Broderick said in her ruling in the case against of Dave and Cathie Tuck.
Broderick said David and Cathie Tuck’s only misstep was that they didn’t keep any financial records of their business and personal expenses.
“There’s no evidence of a criminal offence,” Broderick said in her decision on a directed verdict application.
The application was filed by Cathie Tuck’s lawyer Brad Allison at the conclusion of assistant Crown attorney Sam Humphrey’s case.
Allison, who represented both founders of the Peterborough Huskies organization until the start of the trial, filed an application for a directed verdict following assistant Crown attorney Sam Humphrey’s case.
The Tucks were charged with fraud over $5,000 in November 2016 after Peterborough Police received an anonymous tip that the founders of the special needs not-for-profit organization were using registration fees and donations for their own personal expenses.
Broderick ruled that the prosecution team didn’t provide evidence upon which a judge or jury could convict the Tucks of fraud over $5,000.
“I find you not guilty,” she said while addressing the Tucks who had family and friends in the court. The couple shared an emotional moment
with hugs and tears after hearing Broderick’s verdict. They declined to comment.
“It is too soon,” Dave Tuck said as he walked out of the courtroom. But he later wrote on his Facebook page, “To all the friends and family that supported me and Cathie. We are happy to announce that today a judge granted us a full acquittal. We are 100 per cent innocent.”
By law, the Crown had to prove the intention or knowledge of deceit, falsehood or dishonesty. Broderick ruled the Crown didn’t provide evidence of the latter.
Broderick said there was confusion on who the Crown considered the alleged victims of the fraud to be. However, after reviewing the evidence of city police lead detective Det. Const. Keith Calderwood, she felt the alleged victims were the numerous families that paid registration fees to be part of the Huskies organization. She explained there was no evidence that the use of business money for personal use resulted in the loss of cash or registration fees for any of the Peterborough Huskies families.
“I note the Crown did not call one person,” Broderick said, adding officer Calderwood testified that no one wanted to testify against the Tucks.
Broderick said she had no idea why they didn’t want to go on the record, but it could have been simply because “in their minds they got what paid for.” Broderick also heard how the Huskies organization was behind just over $4,000 in ice-time payments at the Bewdley arena, but said what she didn’t hear was any evidence that the Huskies families would not get what they paid for as the result of lost ice-time.
“I’d be required to speculate,” she said.
Broderick also ruled there was no evidence of intent and that the Tucks weren’t aware that using money for personal expenses might deprive the Huskies’ families and donors.
In coming to this conclusion, she considered the Tucks’ police statements. Both explained that registration fees were e-transferred to Dave Tuck’s personal bank account because the Huskies bank account didn’t have the capability to do so.
The Tucks told police that they would commingle money between accounts, and would often pay for Huskies’ expenses with cash. They also told police that they’d often write cheques for things but ask companies to not cash them so they could later come back and pay their debt in cash.
Broderick said banking records entered as evidence show this pattern. Between 2013 and 2015, about 45 per cent of 169 cheques were never cashed. Banking records also show that Cathie Tuck used $10,000 of her own money to start the team.
“The Tucks offered a reasonable and innocent explanation,” Broderick ruled.