Fake vehicle inspection used to dupe buyer costs man 45 days

By Delon Shurtz - Lethbridge Herald on December 9, 2022.

LETHBRIDGE HERALDdshurtz@lethbridgeherald.com

A Lethbridge man in the market for a used vehicle didn’t have any reason to be suspicious when Gerald David Thurber offered to sell him a 2003 Pontiac Aztec.

Thurber provided the buyer with an inspection report from an AMA certified automotive shop, which confirmed the mechanical fitness of the SUV. What the buyer didn’t know is that the inspection report was fake.

Thurber, 51, didn’t get away with the fraud, however, and Thursday in Lethbridge provincial court he pleaded guilty to one count of uttering a forged document and was sentenced to 45 days in jail.

“A police investigation was conducted, the automotive shop was contacted and it was ultimately determined that that was not a valid and true document,” Crown Prosecutor Adam Zelmer told court. “It had certainly been altered or modified in some way to represent as though it was coming from that auto shop, but the auto shop had not, in fact, done the requisite inspection.”

Zelmer said the vehicle was purchased for $1,600, but after the buyer had it properly inspected, he learned it needed about $2,700 worth of repairs.

Zelmer pointed out Thurber has a criminal record, which includes a conviction earlier this year for possession of stolen property from RV dealerships, for which he received a six-month jail sentence. He was also convicted of possession and trafficking stolen property, for which he received a four-month jail sentence.

Lethbridge lawyer Justin Dean said Thurber, who lives in Medicine Hat and appeared in court by CCTV from the Medicine Hat Remand Centre, suffers from substance abuse, particularly opioids, but he was clean for about a year until he “came back into custody.” He also suffers from depression and chronic back pain.

Thurber was given credit for time he’s already spent in custody on the forged document charge, which completes his jail sentence. Additional charges of fraud under $5,000 and false pretences under $5,000 were withdrawn.

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