Man ordered to pay $100,000 restitution for breach of trust

By Delon Shurtz - Lethbridge Herald on November 8, 2022.

LETHBRIDGE HERALDdshurtz@lethbridgeherald.com

A 68-year-old Lethbridge man who stole thousands of dollars from a long-time friend suffering from dementia, has been sent to jail for six months.

Terry Leong was sentenced in Lethbridge provincial court after he pleaded guilty to charges of theft over $5,000 and criminal breach of trust.

Crown Prosecutor Michael Fox explained that in 2017 Leong agreed to be power of attorney for his friend, who the year before had been diagnosed with early onset dementia. In November 2018, Leong applied for and received financial benefits for his friend from Assured Income for the Severely Handicapped, and by August 2019 had received $11,372 for his care. However, the previous month the man’s residential care facility had contacted AISH and said Leong had not paid any costs during the previous 12 months and the arrears were in excess of $13,000.

An investigation in October 2019 by AISH Corporate Services revealed Leong had withdrawn the AISH payments from his friend’s bank account and transferred them to his own bank account for his own personal use.

“None of the money was used to pay for the day-to-day care of (his friend),” Fox said.

On May 1, 2020, the man’s brother contacted Lethbridge police about additional irregularities in his brother’s bank account. Police discovered another $88,628 had been transferred from the man’s bank account into Leong’s bank account. As money came into the man’s account, Leong would take it out, leaving little or nothing in his friend’s account to pay for living expenses or rent.

The money came from the victim’s monthly CPP disability payments, and from the sale of his home, vehicle and even many of his collectible belongings.

“The theft of this money has left (the victim) with a large debt for residential care, as well as no other funds in his bank account,” Fox said.

Judge Gregory Maxwell acknowledged that the six-month jail term is on the low end of the sentencing range for such a breach of trust, but he accepted the joint recommendation by the Crown and defence lawyer Ingrid Hess.

“Clearly what’s aggravating in this matter is that this involves a breach of trust,” Maxwell said. “And the magnitude is also an aggravating factor.”

However, Maxwell said he considered the man’s “genuine expression of remorse,” and his guilty plea, which avoided a difficult and possibly lengthy trial.

In addition to his jail sentence, Leong was also ordered to make restitution to his friend’s estate of $100,000.

“I’m truly sorry for the way things happened,” Leong said when given the opportunity to speak.

Additional charges of theft over $5,000, possession of the proceeds of crime over $5,000, possession of stolen property, and knowingly benefitting from payments he is not entitled to receive were withdrawn.

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