CHARLOTTETOWN, P.E.I. — A Charlottetown business owner who was the victim of employee theft and fraud says he and his wife were manipulated by a trusted employee.
Eastern Auto Supply owner Thane Thomson spoke to The Guardian after Ryan John MacDonald was sentenced Friday to 60 days in jail on multiple charges related to his time at the company.
Thomson said he and his wife were running a business, got manipulated by a trusted employee and had to fix what he had done.
That’s why he felt the sentence hurt so much, Thomson said.
“Who was punished? I think we were punished more than he ever will be on this.”
MacDonald appeared before Judge John Douglas in provincial court in Charlottetown for sentencing after previously pleading guilty to charges of fraud, theft and forgery.
The court heard MacDonald worked at the Charlottetown business for about seven years until his employers fired him after uncovering fraudulent transactions.
In an interview, Thomson said he had to tell some customers about what happened because they were affected by MacDonald’s actions.
He said he felt terrified to do so.
“Ashamed. Embarrassed,” Thomson said.
As Crown attorney Lisa Goulden read from an agreed statement of facts Friday, she listed multiple false returns MacDonald completed using his own debit card.
Goulden said MacDonald also failed to return two paint guns to the company, and he owed the business $960.65 on a personal account.
In total, Goulden said MacDonald’s former employer sought $3,356.02 in restitution.
Thomson also read from a victim impact statement in court, saying he and his wife have known MacDonald since he was a boy.
The court heard Eastern Auto Supply paid for MacDonald’s health insurance, gave him a company vehicle to drive and sponsored his son on a sports team.
Thomson said the couple was devastated and it will take a long time for them to trust again.
“What he did could have ruined us as a business.”
The couple was seeking restitution, but Thomson said it was only a fraction of the actual amount they lost because of MacDonald.
In sentencing MacDonald, Douglas followed a joint recommendation from the Crown and defence, saying it was in line with previous similar cases.
MacDonald will serve the sentence on weekends.
He will be on probation for 18 months and he must pay $3,356.02 in restitution.
As for Thompson, he said he wants to move on but also doesn’t want to see the same thing happen to anyone else.
He would encourage anyone who is a victim of an employee theft to go through the effort of pursuing criminal charges, Thompson said.
“If you don’t get caught you don’t get a charge and you don’t get a record.”
