Doaktown man collected workers’ comp fraudulently
Judge Cameron Gunn wanted to jail Charles Edward Veno, 54, for the crime, but felt bound by precedent to accept a joint recommendation for a conditional sentence
A Doaktown man who went on workers’ compensation benefits after a back injury in 2000 didn’t advise WorkSafeNB of extra income he earned in recent years, resulting massive overpayments, a court heard.
Charles Edward Veno, 54, of Hazleton Road, previously pleaded guilty to an indictable count of fraud, which he committed between Jan. 1, 2011, and Dec. 31, 2020.
The charge stemmed from overpayments for long-term disability he received from WorkSafeNB during that time.
At an earlier sentencing hearing, prosecutor Rebecca Butler and defence lawyer Ben Reentovich offered a joint recommendation on sentence: a conditional sentence, to be served in the community, plus probation with a condition to pay restitution back to the government agency.
An agreed statement of facts - which Veno and the lawyers signed - was filed with the court, outlining the details of his crime.
"The accused was required to complete an annual questionnaire, including questions about his earned income and whether he received any employment insurance (EI)," the document stated.
"The accused acknowledges that for each year for the table [included, for 2012-2019], he checked boxes indicating that he had no earned income and/or did not receive EI payments when he did in fact have some earned income or receive EI."
As a result, the statement said, he was overpaid by a total of $73,973.26.
Judge Cameron Gunn expressed concern at that earlier sentencing hearing that a non-custodial sentence might be contrary to the public interest, and he adjourned the sentencing to Wednesday to allow the parties to file case law in support of their position.
Butler filed several precedents with the court to demonstrate that conditional sentences had been granted by courts in similar cases in the past. Furthermore, she said, some of those other cases involved even greater amounts of cash being fraudulently acquired.
Binding case law on jointly recommended sentences directs judges to accept them as long as they fall within an established range for similar offences and that they don’t bring the administration of justice into disrepute.
Gunn said Wednesday that he still has concerns about the community-based sentence, given the long-term nature of the crime and how much was taken from government coffers illegally.
“The total amount here is large, and that’s due to the duration,” he said.
“If it wasn’t for the joint submission here… I would certainly impose a period of incarceration.”
The fact that conditional sentences have been granted for such major frauds in the past and the commitment to repay WorkSafeNB convinced him to accept the recommendation, the judge said.
Gunn imposed a 12-month conditional sentence, the first four months of which will be served under house arrest. He said Veno can only leave his residence for medical emergencies, work, legal appointments, exceptions approved by his supervisor and Saturdays from 11 a.m.-6 p.m. to tend to personal affairs.
The second four months of the sentence will be subject to a curfew, Gunn said, adding that the final four months won’t have restrictions on Veno’s movements.
During that 12 months, the judge said, Veno must co-operate with compliance checks at his residence during relevant hours to ensure that he’s following the conditions of his sentence.
Once his conditional sentence is served, Veno will be on probation for three years, the main condition of which is to pay $73,973.26 in restitution to WorkSafeNB
“You’re going to essentially have a $2,000-a-month obligation,” Gunn told the offender.
He also reminded him that if he breaches the terms of his conditional sentence, the remainder of his sentence could be converted to straight jail time.
Don MacPherson can be contacted at ftonindependent@gmail.com.
Wow, interesting