The Crown is arguing the punishment issued to Renee Patricia Merkel for a damaging fraud doesn't go far enough. (Ian Holmes/NanaimoNewsNOW)

By Ian Holmes

appeal granted

Crown appeals house arrest sentence to Parksville workplace scammer

Oct 25, 2021 | 5:36 AM

NANAIMO — The highest court in B.C. will examine the fate of a disgraced Parksville woman who stole $70,000 from her former employer.

The Crown appealed a B.C. Supreme Court judgment handed to Renee Patricia Merkel, whose fraudulent bookkeeping at Errington Cedar Products spanned between April 2017 and March 2019.

Merkel was issued two years house arrest and three years probation from Justice David Crerar in spring 2020 after the offender pleaded guilty to fraud over $5,000. The non-custodial sentence was strongly objected by Crown Counsel.

Day-long BC Court of Appeal arguments between the Crown and Merkel’s defence team are scheduled to take place on Monday, Oct. 25 in Vancouver.

The Crown wants its two year provincial jail sentence recommendation and three years probation applied to Merkel. She avoided a custodial sentence despite having three prior convictions for stealing from past employers.

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A decision from the appellate court is expected at a future date.

The sentence in question
During his April 29 judgment in BC Supreme Court in Nanaimo, Justice Crerar ruled electronic monitoring and the maximum three years probation with strict conditions was sufficient in protecting the public and punishing Merkel.

“While her offence was pernicious and profoundly dishonest, it was not violent. Mrs. Merkel does not physically endanger the safety of the community.”

Justice Crerar said Merkel’s sentence will better promote her rehabilitation by continuing therapy and would help her pay restitution.

Merkel was also ordered to pay back $109,000, representing the total losses to Errington Cedar Products, a bankrupt mill which operated between 1986 and 2019.

Scams first came to light early in 2019 after mill employees complained about irregularities on their pay cheques.

During Merkel’s sentencing hearing, court was told how the damaging scam impacted the mill manager, the operation and its employees.

Victims included a single mother who lost valuable government GST and child tax benefits.

Merkel pleaded guilty in October 2020 to a charge of fraud over $5,000 for inflating the paycheques of inactive current and past employees. Merkel then deposited funds into her personal bank account on 38 occasions.

Her pre-sentence report revealed Merkel rationalized her behaviour to pay for bills and her children’s sports costs and had accepted responsibility for her actions.

Merkel’s lawyer stated his client was previously diagnosed with depression and was constantly dealing with various stresses in life at the time of her most recent offending.

Psychiatrist reports cited concerns Merkel lacked remorse and insight into her offending and is at a medium-to-high risk to re-offend.

Prolific history of fraud
Merkel’s repeat offending, dating back to 2001 in Port Alberni, involved similar separate workplace payroll scams resulting in $118,000 in losses to those employers.

She served a non-conditional sentences for two earlier offences involving higher sums of money, while a nine month jail sentence for a third conviction in 2009 was applied after Merkel defrauded a firm out of $10,050.

The jail sentence resulted from Merkel being pulled over during a traffic stop four days after a non-custodial sentence was applied. A sharp-eyed police officer noticed suspicious financial documents in Merkel’s car during the stop.

The documents tied Merkel to defrauding her then employer while working as a bookkeeper.

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ian@nanaimonewsnow.com

On Twitter: @reporterholmes