Close X
Friday, November 29, 2024
ADVT 
National

Man Who Pledged Millions To B.C. Hockey Team Sentenced On Unrelated Fraud Charge

Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 16 Mar, 2018 05:18 PM
    CRANBROOK, B.C. — A man who promised millions of dollars to a junior hockey team in southeastern British Columbia has been placed on six months of probation after pleading guilty to an unrelated fraud charge.
     
    Mike Gould also faced a second charge of using a forged document but it was stayed when he appeared Thursday in Cranbrook provincial court.
     
    In addition to probation, Gould was also fined $4,000 and must complete 60 hours of community service.
     
    Gould was charged last October after he hosted a celebration for the Kimberley Dynamiters and hockey officials following his promise to donate $7.5 million to the team and the Kimberley Minor Hockey Association.
     
    He wrote a check to cover the $8,000 bill for the dinner at a local restaurant but it was returned because of insufficient funds in the account.
     
    Gould has said he won a 2008 jackpot in a EuroMillions lottery but has never disclosed the value and in past interviews he has blamed problems with a bank for preventing the transfer to the hockey team.
     
    Lawyer Morne Coetzee told the court her client took the cheques to provide payment to the restaurant in a moment of panic because he couldn't liquidate some financial assets that had been frozen.
     
    Gould settled the tab with a cash payment six weeks after the event.
     
    "I'm very sorry for my mistakes," Gould told Judge Lynal Doerksen. "I should never have done it in the first place and I'm kicking myself in the ass for it."
     
    Despite the eventual payment to the restaurant, the fraud charge still stood, said Crown counsel Kristian DeJong.
     
    "He's still convicted of it because a fraud is a fraud. You don't undo these things once they're done and that's why he was sentenced," DeJong said outside court.
     
    The Crown had asked for the $4,000 fine, 12 months of probation and 60 hours of community service. The defence argued the appropriate sentence should be a higher fine of up to $15,000 that he was able to pay, but no probation and community service of 20 hours.
     
    Doerksen said co-operation with police, an early guilty plea, and repayment to the restaurant were mitigating factors in sentencing. 

    MORE National ARTICLES

    Kelowna West Byelection To Determine Former Premier Christy Clark's Replacement Today

    KELOWNA, B.C. — Voters will head to the polls in Kelowna, B.C., today, casting ballots to replace former B.C. premier Christy Clark.

    Kelowna West Byelection To Determine Former Premier Christy Clark's Replacement Today

    10-Year-Old Girl On School Ski Trip In Southern Alberta Hits Pole, Dies In Hospital

    10-Year-Old Girl On School Ski Trip In Southern Alberta Hits Pole, Dies In Hospital
    The Student From Canyon Elementary In Pincher Creek Lost Control And Struck A Pole

    10-Year-Old Girl On School Ski Trip In Southern Alberta Hits Pole, Dies In Hospital

    No One Hurt As WestJet Diverts Flight In B.C., Due To Fire Warning Light

    WestJet says in a statement that flight 3205 had taken off from North Peace Regional Airport Wednesday morning for a flight to Vancouver when a fire detection warning light activated.

    No One Hurt As WestJet Diverts Flight In B.C., Due To Fire Warning Light

    Snow Camping B.C. Teenagers Needed Rescue When Hypothermia Took Hold

    Snow Camping B.C. Teenagers Needed Rescue When Hypothermia Took Hold
    Three teenagers who planned to camp on a mountain near Maple Ridge, B.C., had to be rescued when their equipment turned out to be insufficient for sub-zero temperatures.

    Snow Camping B.C. Teenagers Needed Rescue When Hypothermia Took Hold

    Man Dies After Surf Accident Near Tofino, B.C.

    Man Dies After Surf Accident Near Tofino, B.C.
    TOFINO, B.C. — A 24-year-old man has died while surfing near the resort town of Tofino, B.C.

    Man Dies After Surf Accident Near Tofino, B.C.

    Close Stock-option Loophole, Put Savings In National Pharmacare Plan: NDP

    OTTAWA — The federal NDP is demanding the Trudeau government close a controversial tax loophole for stock options and crackdown on tax havens in the coming federal budget — and redirect the savings towards a national pharmacare program.

    Close Stock-option Loophole, Put Savings In National Pharmacare Plan: NDP