R. v. MacDonnell

R. v. MacDonnell

The offences involved large-scale, complex and planned frauds and tax evasion against the Crown with high moral blameworthiness and insufficient mitigating factors to justify a conditional sentence; sentencing principles of denunciation and general deterrence applicable to major frauds required a custodial sentence within the established 2–5 year range. Applying totality, the court imposed three years' custody concurrent on the fraud counts, an additional concurrent one year for the Excise Tax Act count together with the mandatory fine of $301,511.25 for the defendant, and statutory minimum and nominal corporate fines as set out in the order.

Citation
2021 NSPC 57
Parties
Crown: Her Majesty the Queen; Accused: Ralston MacDonnell; Accused (corporate): MacDonnell Security Risk Management Limited; Accused (corporate): MacDonnell Group of Canada Limited; Accused (corporate): 3182552 Nova Scotia Limited
Court
Nova Scotia Provincial Court
Jurisdiction
Canada
Judgment Date
6 August 2021
Procedural Posture
Criminal / Sentencing
Outcome
Accused convicted and sentenced
Legal Topics
Fraud, Failure to Remit Taxes, Excise Tax Act S.327, Criminal Code S.380(1)(a), Denunciation and Deterrence, Totality Principle
Source Language
English
Criminal Law Tax Law Sentencing Law Fraud Failure to Remit Taxes Excise Tax Act S.327 Criminal Code S.380(1)(a) Denunciation and Deterrence +1 more

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Parties

Her Majesty the Queen

Crown

Ralston MacDonnell

Accused

MacDonnell Security Risk Management Limited

Accused (corporate)

MacDonnell Group of Canada Limited

Accused (corporate)

3182552 Nova Scotia Limited

Accused (corporate)

Procedural Posture

Criminal / Sentencing

Legal Issues

  1. 1 Appropriate custodial sentence for large-scale, planned fraud and tax evasion against the Crown
  2. 2 Whether a conditional sentence order is available and appropriate
  3. 3 Application of mandatory minimum fines under the Excise Tax Act s.327(1)(c)

Ratio Decidendi

The offences involved large-scale, complex and planned frauds and tax evasion against the Crown with high moral blameworthiness and insufficient mitigating factors to justify a conditional sentence; sentencing principles of denunciation and general deterrence applicable to major frauds required a custodial sentence within the established 2–5 year range. Applying totality, the court imposed three years' custody concurrent on the fraud counts, an additional concurrent one year for the Excise Tax Act count together with the mandatory fine of $301,511.25 for the defendant, and statutory minimum and nominal corporate fines as set out in the order.

Court Disposition

Accused convicted and sentenced

Orders

  • Ralston MacDonnell: three years custody on fraud counts to be served concurrently
  • Ralston MacDonnell: concurrent additional one year custody on Excise Tax Act s.327(1)(c) count