Woman admits to stealing $22K from mentally disabled tenants

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This article was published 10/07/2023 (825 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A Winnipeg woman has admitted to pilfering $22,000 in federal government pandemic assistance payments from two mentally disabled people living in her home.

The 39-year-old woman, who was arrested two years ago with her then-16-year-old son, pleaded guilty Monday to two counts of fraud over $5,000 and one count of assault with a weapon.

The woman, who cannot be named because it would identify her son, will be sentenced in the fall.

Court was told the then 56-year-old male victim and 48-year-old female victim were living with the woman in September 2019 when, over the course of a year, she had them transfer $22,000 in Canada Emergency Response Benefit payments to her bank account.

“In doing so, you became aware that these individuals were unsophisticated and would effectively do as you told them,” defence lawyer Hayley Allardyce put to the woman during a plea inquiry to confirm her guilty pleas were informed and voluntary.

“When you became aware that these amounts were CERB payments, you thought that it was likely that neither (of the victims) would have qualified, yet you continued to ask for and receive these payments from them,” Allardyce said.

Asked if she accepted the facts as provided to the court, the woman replied: “Yes.”

Court was told the Crown will seek a sentence of one year of house arrest and an order for restitution.

According to police search warrant documents previously reviewed by the Free Press, the two victims, who were longtime friends, moved into the accused’s Transcona home in September 2019 and agreed to pay her monthly rent by way of e-transfer.

Police alleged the accused would have the male victim log on to his mobile banking app and then she’d take control of his smartphone to transfer herself the rent payment.

The female victim “was able to e-transfer (the female accused) her share of the rent money, but on many occasions, (the accused) would ask her to log on to her TD mobile banking application, take control of her cellphone and send herself an e-transfer payment.”

The accused “continued the monthly money transfers for the entire year and withdrew almost all the funds from the (man and woman’s) separate bank accounts, leaving them with very little money for themselves,” search warrant documents allege.

Unhappy with the way she and the male victim were treated, the female victim moved back in with her parents in June 2020. The male victim joined her a few months later.

The parents helped the two secure their bank records and learned someone had applied for CERB in their names.

The man and woman “were unaware that they were receiving the CERB benefit and believed that (the accused) was entitled to the funds,” police documents say.

A review of the man’s bank records showed he had received 12 CERB payments of $1,000 each, almost all of which was withdrawn by e-transfer “almost immediately” after being deposited, search warrant documents allege.

The man “completely trusted (the female accused) and advised that he didn’t understand what was happening and didn’t know what the CERB benefit was.”

The female victim received $8,000 in CERB deposits, “all followed by an immediate e-transfer withdrawal,” documents say.

Both victims told police they believed the CERB payments were lottery winnings the accused woman had deposited into their accounts.

The woman admitted to assaulting the male victim with a weapon after she used a micro-blading tool to tattoo a large penis on his back while he was intoxicated.

Allardyce told court the woman was intoxicated as well and had only a “blurry memory” of what occurred.

Search warrant documents say the woman, who offered eyebrow treatment services from her home, asked the man in the summer of 2020 if he would like his eyebrows trimmed. The man agreed, was given a glass of vodka and Gatorade, got down on his stomach, and fell asleep.

He awoke later and saw the woman and some of her friends laughing at him. He later discovered the tattoo.

The man is “absolutely devastated by this, he cannot go shirtless, and will have to live with this the rest of his life,” search warrant documents allege.

The woman’s son remains before the court on charges of assault with a weapon and voyeurism in connection to the male victim. The woman is also charged with voyeurism and additional fraud-related offences that are expected to be stayed at sentencing.

Search documents allege the two accused recorded the male victim as he used a public washroom, and on other occasions when he was showering. “Unknown persons” later uploaded some of the videos to YouTube.

The man “did not provide any consent and was upset about the video recordings,” search warrant documents allege.

dean.pritchard@freepress.mb.ca