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Financial adviser who stole from clients sent to jail

Joan Mccarthy also ordered to repay the $710K she stole, and fined $1 million by industry regulator

TARA BRADBURY tara.bradbury @thetelegram.com @tara_bradbury

Minutes before a sheriff put handcuffs on her wrists and escorted her from the room to begin a federal prison term, Joan Mccarthy told a St. John’s court Wednesday afternoon, July 6, she considers herself extremely lucky.

“I am among the most fortunate people. I can’t express how fortunate I am,” Mccarthy, 52, said in a shaky voice when provincial court Judge James Walsh commented on Mccarthy’s continually supportive family, despite her crimes.

Walsh sentenced Mccarthy to two years plus a day behind bars for stealing a total of $710,683.49 from doctor clients while working as an account manager for MD Financial Management in St. John’s between 2006 and 2019.

The court heard Mccarthy had stolen the money by forging clients’ signatures on 161 cheques that she then deposited into her own bank accounts. By the time the theft was revealed during a regular audit, Mccarthy had already left the company. She admitted her guilt when questioned by police.

Mccarthy had been facing 24 charges of fraud over $5,000, forgery, uttering forged documents and possessing property obtained by crime. Defence lawyer John Duggan and prosecutor Scott Hurley presented a joint sentencing submission on five of the charges Wednesday, and the others were withdrawn.

As part of her sentence, Mccarthy must also pay the entire amount she stole to her former employer — which repaid the money to the clients — as well as to RBC bank.

Hurley stressed the extended time period of Mccarthy’s crimes, the amount stolen and her position of trust. The joint submission came after much give and take, he explained, noting at least two of the allegations had involved clients who have since died, and taking the charges to trial might have proven challenging.

Duggan made no excuses for his client, but stressed she had told him she would plead guilty even before she was charged by police last year. She had initially retained him to represent her in an ongoing civil suit brought by RBC.

A pre-sentence report assessed Mccarthy as being at a low risk to reoffend and indicated she had been struggling financially and emotionally in the years she stole her clients’ money.

“What she did was fundamentally, morally and ethically wrong — she realizes that,” Duggan said.

Pointing to a small suitcase on the floor beside Mccarthy in the dock, he added, “She’s ready to go into custody.”

Mccarthy has already been financially ruined for life, Duggan said. In January she was banned by the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada from ever working in the industry again and was ordered to pay a $1-million fine as well as $103,522.14 in costs. Duggan said he expects the Canada Revenue Agency will also come looking for money Mccarthy owes on the unreported income.

After some discussion about the amount of the restitution order, Walsh endorsed the two years plus a day jail term, but noted it is on the low end of the accepted sentencing range for the offences and he wouldn’t have agreed with it had the proposed restitution not been for the full amount. Mccarthy’s openness with police and quick acknowledgement of guilt was a factor in his endorsement of the proposed sentence, he said, as was the fact the victims had already been repaid by MD Financial Management.

“I’ve hurt a lot of people. I’ve hurt my victims, I’ve hurt my family, I’ve hurt my coworkers, and I’m very sorry for all of that,” Mccarthy told the court.

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2022-07-07T07:00:00.0000000Z

2022-07-07T07:00:00.0000000Z

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