The frontman of a fraud squad that bilked North Shore banks out of nearly half a million dollars escaped jail time at his sentencing at North Vancouver provincial court Friday.
Ian Gillis, 31, pled guilty to three counts of fraud and one charge of money laundering in connection with a scheme that involved forging corporate documents and depositing stolen commercial cheques totalling $767,000 in business bank accounts on the North Shore.
On four occasions over six weeks in May and June of 2012, Gillis went into the banks and — using his own identity — attempted to withdraw the cash or wire it to an offshore account.
The banks lost about $493,000 of that money, including $390,000 Gillis wired to offshore accounts in Switzerland, Spain and Uganda before the fraud was discovered.
Gillis was sentenced to a two-year conditional sentence and ordered to make restitution for his share of the scam: approximately $36,000.
“It is clear he was not the mastermind of the operation,” said Judge John Milne.
The overall scheme, which took place at banks across the Lower Mainland, involved allegedly defrauding banks of about $2.3 million. Of that, close to $1 million is still missing.
Gillis ran the scam successfully three times but was stymied on a fourth occasion when the account was frozen. He quit shortly after, stepping away from the operation in July, 2012.
Milne noted Gillis walked away of his own volition and without any knowledge of the ongoing investigation into his actions and three other men accused to taking part in the crime.
According to Gillis’ defence lawyer, high school friend Nathan Lawrence recruited Gillis into the enterprise and introduced him to alleged ringleader Robert Irama.
“(Gillis) was literally at the bottom of the pyramid,” said defence lawyer David Thomas.
The promise of quick cash, which seemed “too good to be true,” came when both Gillis and his partner had been laid off while trying to save money for a wedding in Maui.
Milne balanced his judgment between the need for deterrence and several mitigating factors including Gillis’ guilty plea, the fact he wasn’t in a position of trust while running the scam, and that he walked away from the scheme.
Gillis must pay $18,000 to the Bank of Montreal, $9,300 to the Royal Bank and $9,000 to Toronto Dominion. Besides repaying the three banks, Gillis also has to pay a victim surcharge.
Gillis is currently paying $400 a month to the three banks.
Lawrence, 31, of Richmond, pleaded guilty to one charge of fraud over $5,000 earlier this summer and was handed an eight-month conditional sentence in the case.
Robert Irama, 42, alleged to be the mastermind of the operation, faces 14 charges of fraud and money laundering. His next court date is scheduled for March 26 in North Vancouver provincial court.
David Hanson, 31, of Vancouver has also been charged in the case but has not yet been arrested.
