On October 12, 2022, the BC Provincial Court sentenced Krisandra Jacobs to four years imprisonment and imposed a restitution order of $855,000 for a fraud she perpetrated on the Squamish First Nation. Justice Lynn Smith declared the fraud to be “brazen and flagrant in the extreme”. There were 422 transactions of fraud that took place over 3 years.
Ms. Jacob’s fraud was committed over a three-year period while she was employed by the Nation as the head of the Communication and Band Manager Services Department and while serving as an elected co-chair of the Squamish Nation’s Council, one of two of the most powerful positions in the community. The money was earmarked for the Nation’s most needy members.
Ms. Jacobs says that she had a gambling disorder and that that fact reduces her moral blameworthiness. Justice Smith held that the evidence established that the documentary evidence demonstrated that, to a large extent, Ms. Jacobs simply used the monies she took to supplement her legitimate income to permit her to do things she enjoyed, including, such things as gambling and attending the spa.
There is no prospect of restitution. The Court published its sentencing judgment at R. v. Jacobs, 2022 BCPC 230, and the reasons for conviction at R. v. Jacobs, 2021 BCPC 362.
