After over a decade since their fraud scheme began, two men convicted of defrauding mining company Atlas Copco of $24 million have been sentenced in Sudbury court.
Paul Caron, 72, and Dirk Plate, 72, were sentenced yesterday by Justice J.S. Poupore and led from the courtroom in handcuffs,
CBC News reported.
Caron, the insurance broker who handled the company’s employee benefit claims, was sentenced to six and a half years in prison. He was also ordered to pay $10 million to Atlas Copco within 10 years of his release from prison or face another prison term.
Plate, the former manager of Atlas Copco’s Sudbury office, was sentenced to five years in prison. He was also ordered to pay $77,000 in restitution, as well as the $1.4 in retirement annuities purchased for him with the stolen money.
Crown Attorney Philip Zylberberg originally argued that both men should serve jail sentences of eight years, reasoning that aside from the money they owe Atlas Copco, a "debt is owed to society."
"This is how we denounce, this is how we deter," Zylberberg told the court. "So the next person in their position understands there is a price to pay."
The convicted two were involved in an overbilling scheme along with two others: the Montreal-based human resources manager Leo Caron and the former Sudbury office financial manager David Hillier. Leo pleaded guilty in 2013 and was sentenced to five years in jail. Hillier avoided a criminal charge by returning the $400,000 he claimed he stole and agreeing to testify against his accomplices.
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