Sizeable disclosure in fraud case against Lethbridge businessman

By Delon Shurtz - Lethbridge Herald on January 17, 2023.

LETHBRIDGE HERALDdshurtz@lethbridgeherald.com

A Lethbridge businessman who was facing 62 fraud-related charges before they were whittled down to 18 charges, will return to court next month after his lawyer has had an opportunity to review disclosure from the Crown’s office.

“There’s quite a volume of disclosure for this particular matter,” an agent for Lethbridge lawyer Marcus Mueller said Monday in Lethbridge provincial court.

The matter has been adjourned several times since Grant Ryan Stevenson was arrested and charged last summer. Many of the delays were required to allow the accused time to retain a lawyer, and during a court hearing last month most of the charges were withdrawn. The Crown also confirmed at the time that there are “thousands of pages of disclosure and information.”

Stevenson was charged 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, which included credit card fraud and the advanced payment of fees for services that were not provided.

Stevenson, 40, is charged with 11 counts of unauthorized use of a credit card and seven counts of using a forged document. Before the number of charges were reduced last month, the Stirling resident was facing dozens of additional charges including possession of the proceeds of crime, use of a public seal, forgery, false pretense over $5,000, mischief over $5,000, fraud under $5,000 and fraud over $5,000.

The matter is scheduled to return to court on Feb. 6.

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