Fraud suspect hasn’t applied for legal aid
Brent Hayward Stewart, 50, of Doaktown, tells court private counsel would cost him $250K
A Doaktown man awaiting a judge and jury trial on more than two dozen fraud charges says he can’t afford to hire a lawyer and dismissed legal aid as an arm of the public prosecution service.
Brent Hayward Stewart, 50, of Hazelton Road, was before the Court of King’s Bench at the Burton Courthouse on Monday morning for a pre-trial conference.
He faces 26 indictable counts of fraud, through which the RCMP alleges he defrauded customers at DMR Auto Sales in Pepper Creek on Fredericton’s north side while working as a salesman at the used-car dealership between 2020 and 2021.
Stewart is also charged with a related count of theft, alleging he stole money from DMR as well.
The defendant’s trial before a Court of King’s Bench judge and jury is scheduled for April 2026.