8 years. This is the prison sentence that Sylvie Dagenais deserves for having defrauded a distinguished CHUM researcher for nearly 15 years, estimates the public prosecutor. During this period, the Dagenais-Édisbury family embezzled more than 1.5 million dollars intended for medical research.
” Funds [détournés] could not be allocated to people participating in research protocols to help them overcome their cancer,” recalled Me Sarah-Audrey Daigneault, representing the public prosecutor. “As for me, this is one of the most aggravating factors. »
Sylvie Dagenais and her partner Danny Édisbury were found guilty last October of fraud, forgery and use of counterfeit documents over a period from 2000 to 2014. Their sons Carl Edisbury, 36, and Francis Edisbury, 34, were also been found guilty of fraud.
(Re)read: The CHUM victim of a family of fraudsters
Sylvie Dagenais and her team set up a complex fraudulent scheme including the payment of double salaries and a “dishonest and carefully elaborated” invoicing system, according to the 84-page decision rendered in October by judge Mylène Grégoire.
Medical secretary of the CHUM since the 1980s, Sylvie Dagenais took advantage of the close bond of trust developed with the Dr Fred Saad, head of the Urology Department at the CHUM and eminent researcher in prostate cancer.
The couple’s sons were also involved in the scheme. Carl Édisbury was hired with no experience and was paid 15 hours of overtime per week for five years.
The youngest, Francis Édisbury, also received a salary for five years without ever receiving a contract from the research center.
The fraud was brought to light during the CHUM’s move in the 2010s. The members involved were accused in 2019.
Prison and Reimbursements
Observations on the sentence opened at the Montreal courthouse on Wednesday for the four accused, already found guilty. This stage of the legal process allows both parties to argue the circumstances surrounding the crime and suggest sentences accordingly.
Me Sarah-Audrey Daigneault suggested prison sentences of eight years for Sylvie Dagenais – the real mastermind of the operations – and four years for Danny Édisbury. The two sons should also receive, according to the public prosecutor, suspended sentences of 2 years, that is to say with the possibility of serving it in the community.
Each member of the fraudsters’ family should also pay a compensatory fine, judge Me Daigneault. This fine would total the total amount of the fraud, more than $1.5 million. In addition to this fine, the accused should reimburse the amounts obtained by ensuring that they go to the victims, that is to say the CHUM research center.
Several aggravating factors were noted by Mr.e Daigneault in the affair, in particular the breach of trust towards the employer, the fraud against the government and for sums intended for vulnerable people, the scale of the amounts involved, and the fact that the scam was stretched for several years.
Sylvie Dagenais and Danny Édisbury are defended by Me Isabelle Lamarche, while Me Maxime St-Germain represents sons Francis and Carl. Sentencing submissions will continue Thursday to present the defense’s sentencing suggestions.