Tuesday, March 16, 2010

Calvin Barry Defends Fraud Case

Refugee avoids jail in fraud case

Man gets probation after pleading guilty in $17,000 scam

By Tony Lofaro, The Ottawa Citizen
March 16, 2010

A 32-year-old Toronto man facing deportation for swindling a friend was granted a discharge and put on probation by an Ottawa judge Monday, likely saving him from being sent back to Africa.

In handing out the discharge to John Jallah, who pleaded guilty and repaid the $17,000 he took, Ontario Superior Court Justice Douglas Rutherford cautioned him not to "blow it" and warned him to stay out of trouble while he is on probation. He said the court did not look fondly at the scam he perpetrated on his friend, Massoud Ebady, an Ottawa taxi driver.

A tearful Jallah apologized, adding he was remorseful that his actions resulted in Ebady losing $17,000 as part of a "money-cleaning" scam.

Such a confidence game typically involves a swindler with a stack of black paper slips, which he claims are bills that have been accidentally stained or dyed to hide them from the authorities. They can, the con artist says, be cleaned with expensive chemicals. If the mark puts up the cash to buy the supplies, the pair can split the money.

"I take full responsibility," said Jallah to the judge, wiping away his tears.

Court heard that Jallah fled his native Sierra Leone after the country was thrown into civil war. He settled in Guinea and then France, before coming to Canada in 2000 as a refugee.

He eventually got married and had two children and the family settled in Brampton.

In August 2005, Jallah took $17,000 in $100 bills from Ebady, promising him that he'd be able to double his money, court was told. However, Ebady's money disappeared and Jallah was charged with fraud over $5,000.

But three days after his trial began last fall his plea was changed to guilty of theft over $5,000, a lesser charge. Jallah entered that plea after it became apparent he might be allowed to remain in Canada, his lawyer Calvin Barry said during his client's trial last fall.

Barry said Jallah has repaid the $17,000 to Ebady and also performed 123 hours of community service as a way of giving back to society.

As a refugee, there was a possibility Jallah could be deported back to Sierra Leone if he didn't receive a complete discharge on the charge of theft over $5,000, court heard.

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