At the regular May 16 sitting of the Estevan provincial court, Matthew Irwin was given a six month conditional sentence, followed by 12 months of probation, after pleading guilty to fraud under $5,000 against a former employer.
Senior Crown Prosecutor Chris White stated Irwin had access to company vehicles, while working for Prairie Gold Pumpjack Services. During his employment, Irwin used an account for refilling company vehicles for personal uses, buying food, gas for his personal vehicle and lottery tickets, over the course of five months. Irwin defrauded the company of a total of $4,700 which he was ordered to pay back, in restitution.
In addition to the charges of fraud, Irwin was also facing charges of theft, and a prior failure to appear in court. The sentence Irwin was given was concurrent, for the fraud and the other charges.
Irwin’s lawyer told the court that her client was 24 years old, pursuing an education, the father of a two-year-old daughter and currently employed with a local construction company.
Irwin’s lawyer noted the circumstances of the thefts he committed were due to financial pressure to provide for himself and his child, after losing his job with Prairie Gold Pumpjack Services, making poor, rash decisions.
Irwin’s lawyer said the fraud occurred because Irwin abused the system by which he was given funds to refuel company vehicles, assuming that adding small items to the purchase, like food was a common and acceptable practice.
Presiding Judge Lane Wiegers noted the offence was serious, because it was a betrayal of one of the most important aspects of a business; the trust between an employee and an employer.
As part of his sentence, Irwin was also put under a curfew, ordered to not contact his previous employer and given a victim fine surcharge of $500.
Peter Prevost was given an 18 month conditional discharge, after pleading guilty to the assault of a co-worker in an altercation that took place in Benson, on March 3, 2016.
White said the situation had been “building for quite some time” between the accused and the victim, adding there was an allegation that the victim had been having an affair with the accused’s ex-spouse.
White said that on March 3, the accused went to his ex-spouse’s home, and asked the victim to walk outside to talk to him. The accused then pushed and struck the victim several times, including once in the head.
Prevost’s lawyer said Prevost had no criminal record at the age of 56, readily took responsibility for the incident and entered a guilty plea at the earliest possible opportunity. In light of this, the Crown and Prevost’s lawyer made the joint recommendation of a conditional discharge.
In addition to the conditional discharge, Wiegers ordered that Prevost not have contact with the victim, and that he pay a $100 victim fine surcharge.
