Cape Breton woman to be sentenced in fraud case

A Cape Breton woman is to be sentenced later this month after pleading guilty to defrauding her mother and her former landlord of thousands of dollars.

Juanita Ann MacNeil, 58, whose court file lists addresses in Sydney and New Waterford, will be sentenced on charges of assault with a weapon (a knife), false pretence (posing as another individual to obtain credit), theft and fraud. Several other offences were dismissed.

During a provincial court hearing Wednesday, prosecutor Christa MacKinnon said the assault with a weapon charge related to an incident on Ferry Street in Sydney on Dec. 5, 2011. MacNeil was charged after police received a complaint of a woman threatening another individual with a butcher knife.

MacKinnon said MacNeil was also charged after her former landlord reported to police that she had written cheques to herself on his account totalling $1,550. The offence occurred in Sydney.

The theft charge relates to an incident between April and May of this year during which MacNeil stole more than $10,000 from her mother’s bank account having stolen her mother’s bank card.

In reading his victim impact statement to the court Wednesday, former landlord Anil Rai choked back tears in recalling how MacNeil sold numerous personal items of his while writing cheques to herself on his account.

He said he met MacNeil after posting a social media advertisement looking for someone to rent his Sydney home. Rai also has a residence in Halifax.

At the time, Rai had suffered two heart attacks.

He said MacNeil told him she would place his personal belongings in the basement of the home but instead sold various items. Among the missing items were a washer and dryer, tools, a counter top and video camera.

“I thought I was helping someone and they were helping me but I was conned,” he said.

MacKinnon and defence lawyer Christa Thompson are expected to offer a joint sentencing recommendation of an additional 31 days in jail followed by a period of probation. The sentence is also expected to include an order of restitution.