B.C. woman sentenced for dental clinic fraud

A B.C. female who stole just about $150,000 from her employer and defrauded a number of insurance plan providers even though doing work as a dental receptionist has been sentenced to 20 months in jail.

On Monday, Christina Leigh Bornais pleaded guilty to four crimes related to the fraud, theft, and falsifying data which she admitted took position above a period of six decades when she labored at the Dr. Maureen Murray Dental Clinic in Kamloops

“The comprehensive extent of the losses endured by Ms. Bornais’ victims is not identified, and most likely never ever will be,” Justice Brad Smith wrote in his sentencing selection.

The RCMP’s investigation of the fraud exposed a few different kinds of wrongdoing, in accordance to an agreed upon statement of specifics.

Initially, Bornais was uncovered to have deposited at least 241 cheques from nine coverage companies that were being issued to the dental clinic into her personalized financial institution account.

On top of that, Bornais was observed to have engaged in “fraudulent billing,” the courtroom listened to. This included billing insurance firms for solutions that ended up by no means offered, overcharging sufferers, failing to difficulty refunds or credits when they ended up owed, and double-dipping to acquire more than 100 for each cent of what was owed when sufferers experienced coverage from much more than a person provider.

Last but not least, the court docket listened to that Bornais was uncovered to have “hid her actions via a assortment of alterations and falsifications of bookkeeping information.” This involved recording shopper accounts as being overdue and composing off $36,396.08 of terrible credit card debt for unpaid expenses.

“The steps that Ms. Bornais took to obscure her pursuits in the clinic account method manufactured it not possible to absolutely reconstruct exactly how quite a few transactions ended up legitimately sourced and how numerous were produced fraudulently in get to divert cash to Ms. Bornais and/or to address her tracks,” the selection describes.

Murray told the court that the impression of the crimes prolonged beyond the original financial loss. Auditing the textbooks and seeking to suitable affected individual data has been both equally highly-priced and time-consuming for the clinic, the final decision describes.

The clinic is left with affected person information that do not correctly mirror which treatments have been presented and which insurance policy claims have been submitted and compensated.

“Thanks to the way that protection is supplied to people, treatments that were being falsely claimed or inaccurately claimed may possibly reduce people from building promises for long term therapies that they need to have. Dr. Murray is supplying these solutions out of pocket in get to mitigate loss for her people,” the determination explains.

The effects on Murray and the individuals at the clinic was one of the things Smith considered aggravating in the case.

“Ms. Bornais’ offences influenced Dr. Murray’s patients, whom Ms. Bornais utilised as unwitting pawns in her scheme. Ms. Bornais’ actions might reduce the influenced individuals from boasting for necessary dental therapies in long term,” the conclusion claims.

The complexity and length of the scheme was also a element the choose weighed, stating it confirmed premeditation and organizing. The actuality that at the very least $144,000.00 was stolen was also a aspect in the choice, with the choose describing it as “a substantial theft.”

Mitigating aspects in the situation incorporated Bornais’ responsible plea, the point that she was a initially-time offender and her expressions of remorse have been regarded mitigating.

Bronais’ defence was asking for a conditional sentence purchase of two decades significantly less a working day, adopted by probation. The Crown argued incarceration was needed.

The choose agreed.

“Ms. Bornais’ moral culpability is significant. When she is a initially-time offender, Ms. Bornais engaged in a deliberate sample of deception more than a period of time of pretty much 6 decades, all while abusing her posture of have faith in. Ms. Bornais brought on considerable losses to her victims. She did so in a condition involving the provision of dental providers, which I find are integral to an individual’s standard well being,” Smith wrote.

“Her actions will probable have long-long lasting and far-achieving impacts on Dr. Murray, Dr. Murray’s patients and the coverage organizations. Her actions, offered their severity, should be strongly denounced. The sentence imposed on Ms. Bornais have to provide to prevent those people who would betray the have confidence in of their employers and steal from them.”

In addition to 20 months in jail and two several years of probation, the judge also purchased Bornais to pay out Murray $144,885.96 in restitution.
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