Woman gets jail time for exploiting elderly neighbour

A 51-year-old single mother of three who wrote herself 110 fraudulent cheques totalling $79,000 on the accounts of an elderly neighbour has been sentenced to 12 months in jail.

Quebec Court Judge Nathalie Fafard said Fatima Alles exploited a person who had been generous to her, and the age and vulnerability of the victim were aggravating factors.

“The infractions were committed while the victim was sick and weak, and several of the transactions were done while he was in a coma shortly before his death,” the judge noted.

“It stopped, not because of an act of conscience, but because of his death.”

Anomalies in the bank statements were noticed by an accountant when the estate was being settled after the death in 2002.

Alles pleaded guilty to fraud above $5,000 and use of forged documents between 2000 and 2002.

In a civil judgment in 2004, she was ordered to repay the $79,000. She subsequently declared personal bankruptcy.

No money was remitted to the estate.

Court was told she’d taken the money to provide for her family.

“The objective may be laudable, the means of doing so not as much,” Judge Fafard wrote.

She described exploitation of a senior losing autonomy as a “particularly shocking” offence that needed a dissuasive sentence.

“One hundred and 10 times, the accused used falsified cheques from three different accounts belonging to the victim. She first had to find a way to get access to the bank documents of the victim and then act without causing suspicion. It’s not done on impulse, requiring premeditation and planning,” the ruling stated.