Contractor treated 'like an ATM,' judge says while sentencing woman to house arrest
A St. John's woman was sentenced Thursday to house arrest, ordered to pay back money she stole from a Mount Pearl contractor, and finally lectured by a judge for victimizing a small business.
Leah Chaulk was given 16 months' house arrest Thursday for stealing $70,000 from Backyard Contractors over 13 years — money she has been ordered to pay back.
"Too many small businesses, like this one, have been victimized by employees that use those businesses as kind of like an ATM," said Judge Colin Flynn while handing down the sentence in provincial court in St. John's.
Chaulk had pleaded guilty to two counts of fraud over $5,000 in provincial court in August.
In a joint submission, Crown prosecutor Alison Doyle and defence lawyer John Noonan had recommended a 16-month sentence.
While reading from the bench, Flynn took time to talk about the "significant amount" of money stolen.
Chaulk worked at Backyard Contracting as a bookkeeper, where she was evidently able to disguise what she had been doing with the company's money.
She used a company credit card to make personal purchases like a snowblower, an iPhone, hotel stays and dental care.
As well, Chaulk and her husband used a company gas card to fuel up their own vehicles from 2005 until they were caught in 2016.
"It's a big shock," Backyard Contractors owner Michael Whelan said outside of court Thursday.
"You are after placing a lot of trust and working side by side for the past 15, 16 years. It's a big hit for a small company."
Whelan told reporters that he first noticed something was wrong in December 2015, and that he kept a close on eye on Chaulk for the next eight to 10 months.
In August 2016 he went to Royal Newfoundland Constabulary. It took more than two years for the case to move through the court system.
Whelan said he's glad the case is resolved.
"[We need] to put a stop to all this fraud that's going on with small businesses."
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