B.C. MAN GETS JAIL, STIFF FINE FOR TAX EVASION AND FORGERY

The Canada Revenue Agency says a West Vancouver man has been sentenced to 29 months in jail and fined $644,975.71 for trying to avoid a tax bill. Court records show Michael Sholz was sentenced Wednesday in provincial court in Vancouver. Sholz, in his late 60s, was convicted in June of three tax-related offences under the Excise Tax Act and two counts of uttering forged documents related to ownership and construction of a West Vancouver home. A CRA statement says Scholz forged documents to support ineligible tax credits and forged a lease agreement that would have lowered the assessed value of the home, reducing taxes.