Multiple Fraud Charges Dismissed Due to Mental Health

Last week Astor Legal appeared at Toronto Local Court on behalf of a client charged with serious fraud offences. Our client was known to Police they had previously charged him with fraud offences.

At the time of these offences he was on bail. Police alleged that our client had set up an ‘Airtasker’ account and enlisted a number of persons to carry out fraudulent acts on his behalf. The allegations involved a significant degree of planning and sophistication.

The end result was that thousands of dollars had been misappropriated and transferred to a number of different accounts before the funds were allegedly extracted by our client. Due to the serious nature of the charges, our client was bail refused.

Despite this, we were able to obtain a report from a clinical nurse who confirmed that our client suffered from schizoaffective disorder. The report went on to suggest a treatment plan upon his release from custody. We then made submissions on the Section 32 Application for the charges to be dismissed based on his mental condition.

Despite strong opposition from the prosecutor, the seriousness of the charges and the fact that our client was on bail, the Magistrate was persuaded to accede to the s32 application. As such, the charges were dismissed.