Local business owner facing multiple theft and fraud charges

By Delon Shurtz - Lethbridge Herald on September 30, 2022.

LETHBRIDGE HERALDdshurtz@lethbridgeherald.com

A Lethbridge mechanic shop owner accused of committing numerous fraud-related offences had his criminal charges briefly spoken to Thursday in Lethbridge provincial court.

Lethbridge lawyer Marcus Mueller represented the accused, Grant Ryan Stevenson of Stirling, but explained he is only acting as an agent for Stevenson until he is fully retained.

Stevenson, who owns Fisher Diesel, was charged earlier this summer after police with the economic crimes unit began an investigation into a Lethbridge business in 2021. Police allege more than two dozen people were defrauded of $500,000 between 2018 and 2021 through business dealings that included credit card fraud and the advanced payment of fees for services that were not provided.

Stevenson, 40, faces 62 charges, including theft over $5,000, unauthorized use of a credit card, possession of the proceeds of crime, use of a public seal, forgery, uttering a forged document, false pretense over $5,000, mischief over $5,000, fraud under $5,000 and fraud over $5,000.

During Thursday’s hearing, at which Stevenson was not required to attend, Crown Prosecutor Clayton Giles said a prosecutor will need to be assigned to the case and it will take a considerable amount of time to go through all the complicated information.

“These are large files,” Giles said. “They come in, essentially, a minimum of some 3,500 pages.”

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