Woman who defrauded Fort Smith, N.W.T., company sentenced to house arrest, fine
CBC
A former employee of a Fort Smith, N.W.T., construction company will spend nearly two years under house arrest and more than 17 years paying off a fine for defrauding her former employer out of hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Dorreen Vogt, 47, was sentenced Monday in the N.W.T. Supreme Court. From January to the end of October 2019, Vogt made 111 fraudulent transfers, issuing cheques and electronic money transfers from the business to herself and others she knew.
Vogt was working as a bookkeeper for the Fort Smith construction company at the time, a role that gave her access to its bank accounts.
After about 10 months, the owner of the company, who is also Vogt's uncle, found there was very little money left in the accounts, discovered the fraud and fired Vogt.
Crown prosecutor Erin Carley told the court that the small construction business suffered a significant loss as a result.
Defence lawyer Gary Smith said that Vogt's crimes were fuelled by addiction.
Vogt suffers from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease — a lung condition that can make it difficult for her to breathe —and psoriatic arthritis that affects her skin and joints. The court heard that Vogt has been hospitalized five times since March.
Smith said Vogt became addicted to prescription painkillers, and later, cocaine.
"It was not fuelled by greed, she has nothing to show for any of this," he said.
He also told the court that Vogt has been clean and sober for seven months.
Justice Sheila MacPherson accepted the sentence recommended by both Smith and Carley.
The lawyers agreed that a conditional sentence, sometimes called house arrest, would allow Vogt to care for her children. She has three children aged 14, 15 and 25. For the teenagers, Vogt is often the sole caretaker.
A sentence served in the community also allows Vogt to make payments to the victim.
She's ordered to pay $31,795, the amount she personally gained from her fraudulent payments.
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