Bookkeeper, cousin jailed for defrauding aboriginal groups of nearly $ 1 million

Two men who defrauded two aboriginal organizations of almost $ 1 million were sent to jail Wednesday.

B. C. Supreme Court Associate Chief Justice Austin Cullen sentenced Craig Morrison to two years in jail and handed an 18- month jail sentence to his accomplice, Dennis Wells.

The men pleaded guilty last year to two counts of fraud over $ 5,000 after being caught siphoning off money from the Aboriginal Council of B. C. and the B. C. Aboriginal Fisheries Commission. The organizations were located in an office at Park Royal in West Vancouver.

Morrison, 34, was the bookkeeper for the two organizations and was in a position of trust. He diverted the funds to his cousin, Wells, over a three- year period ending in 2005.

The judge said the magnitude and lengthy duration of the crimes required jail time. He rejected defence requests to impose conditional sentences, which would have allowed the men to serve their time under house arrest.

The Crown asked for a four- year prison term for Morrison and between two-and-a- half and three- years for Wells.

Wells, 55, a father of two, told the judge last December he had spoken to members of the aboriginal community about the shame he felt for his crimes.

“I’m disgusted with the way I acted ... I’m sorry to all the people I hurt in those two companies,” he said.

Morrison, 34, said he had undergone counselling and was facing up to his crimes. Wells admitted he blew his share of the money drinking and gambling.

Court heard that most of the 199 fraudulent transactions involved Morrison diverting money by direct bank transfer to an account held by Wells. Some involved cheques with forged signatures. The fraud was only discovered when Morrison was laid off and a financial review was conducted.

Ken Malloway, chairman of the two organizations for about 20 years, earlier told the court that both eventually went under because of financial problems caused by the fraud.