Staff Reporter, Canadian Fraud News Inc.
On January 29, 2021, Justice Cameron Gunn sentenced New Brunswick native Amanda Diane Durette-Acker to 12 months jail for perpetrating a $130,000 on-line dating fraud on an Edmonton man.
The published decision was not released to 2023. Norman Groot, of the fraud recovery firm, Investigation Counsel PC, advises that many Canadian fraud judgments are not published by the Courts. It is important that judgments such as these are published so that Canadians can conduct their own due diligence.
The judgment reports that Durette-Acker posed as “Vanessa Miller” on the website ‘Plenty-of-Fish’, and after meeting the Edmonton man, sent text messages to him and spoke with him over the phone. Durette-Acker never met the man in person.
In the process of grooming the Edmonton man, Durette-Acker set the emotional hook of her affection for the Edmonton man, and then spoke of issues in her life that money could resolve. In an act of combined pity and affection, the Edmonton man sent Durette-Acker $130,000 of a one year period.
Eventually Durette-Acker’s shine diminished, and the Edmonton man made inquiries. He reported his loss to police. The police investigation revealed that “Vanessa Miller” was actually Amanda Durette-Acker. In the course of a police interview Durette-Acker admitted her fraud on the Edmonton man.
Durette-Acker requested a ‘house arrest’ conditional sentence. The judge, however, refused this option finding that her conduct was predatory. In addition to 12 months jail, Durette-Acker was ordered to pay restitution of $133,000, and placed on probation to 18 months (to July 2023).
The full judgment is published on CanLii at R. v. Durrette-Acker, 2023 NBPC 2. 2023 NBPC 2 (CanLII) | R v. Durette-Acker | CanLII
