Amber-Dawn McLellan leaves court following her Friday, Nov. 21 sentencing hearing in Nanaimo. (Ian Holmes/NanaimoNewsNOW)

By Ian Holmes

guilty plea

Nanaimo gas card fraudster banned from Vancouver Island

Nov 26, 2025 | 5:26 AM

NANAIMO — Potentially facing jail time, a former Nanaimo woman opted for a plea deal for illegally using a company gas card.

Amber-Dawn McLellan, 48, pleaded guilty to fraud under $5,000 for the fraudulent use of a Nanaimo-based traffic control company’s gas card throughout September 2022.

McLellan’s non-custodial sentence followed a recent sentencing hearing at provincial court in Nanaimo.

Described as an unsophisticated and brazen scam, McLellan racked up $3,995 worth of fraudulent charges, Crown counsel’s Nick Barber said.

“It was used to provide gas to both Ms. McLellan and others. It was all captured on CCTV video and tracked through the card number.”

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Barber said McLellan was not employed by the impacted company.

While it’s not confirmed how the card was obtained, Barber said it was likely provided by an employee.

Evidence collected by Nanaimo RCMP showed the card was used at several local gas stations.

While McLellan was allegedly responsible for frauds “more expansive than this and they involve other communities,” the Crown’s Barber said two charges were dropped, including fraud over $5,000.

Defence attorney James Arrends said Crown counsel faced a complex trial, with “days and days” worth of surveillance footage to be played in court.

“It was a bit of a mess to deal with…it will almost certainly save the court a long trial,” Arrends said.

Several co-accused had their charges dropped by Crown counsel following confirmation of McLellan’s guilty plea.

Arrends said his client’s current employment status involves house and dog sitting.

The offender moved away from Nanaimo following her offending, and now resides in the Vancouver area, Arrends said.

Restitution was not sought by the impacted company.

McLellan has a longstanding, albeit staggered, criminal record spanning western Canada.

She has numerous convictions for crimes of dishonesty, property crimes and probation violations in Nanaimo.

Her most recent convictions, other than the gas card fraud, were based in Alberta, court was told.

Judge Ronald Lamperson accepted a 12-month Conditional Sentence Order (CSO) recommendation, with the first half of the order involving 24-hour-a-day house arrest, and the final six months featuring an overnight curfew between 9 p.m. and 9 a.m.

The CSO bans the offender from Vancouver Island for the next year, minus the ability to visit her mother, who lives in Victoria.

The judge told McLellan that her actions could have warranted jail time.

“In the usual case, with a charge like this, with a record like yours, you’d go to jail, you wouldn’t serve the jail sentence in the community. Obviously, there’s reasons why counsel is suggesting this sentence.”

In a brief, barely audible statement, McLellan told court that she regretted her actions.

Amber-Dawn McLellan was ordered off Vancouver Island during the duration of her year-long Conditional Sentence Order (Ian Holmes/NanaimoNewsNOW)

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