Herald
Upton Found
Guilty
Jury
convicts man of 48 fraud offences
September
26, 2008 - By Jennifer Stewart Court Reporter
A
jury convicted David Anthony Upton Thursday on all but eight
of the 56 fraud offences he was charged with in a pair of
advance-fee loan scams targeting American citizens.
After
almost two days of deliberations, the eight-woman, four-man
jury agreed that Mr. Upton is guilty of 45 counts of fraud
under $5,000, one of fraud over $5,000 and two counts of attempted
fraud over $5,000.
The
jury acquitted the 34-year-old Dartmouth man of seven counts
of fraud under $5,000 and a single count of possession of
property obtained through crime, specifically a laptop computer.
During
the three-week trial in Nova Scotia Supreme Court, the jury
heard from several of the complainants who sent a fee to Nationwide
or All Star Financial Services in exchange for loans that
never came through.
In
total, 53 people lost about $48,000 in the scams, which operated
in the metro area between July and December 2003.
An
RCMP officer testified that Mr. Upton was present in the office
of one of the phoney businesses at 1160 Bedford Hwy. when
police executed a search warrant on Dec. 22, 2003.
A
fingerprint expert also testified that Mr. Upton's prints
were found on a number of documents seized from the office
at 1160 Bedford Hwy.
Co-accused
Paul Upton, 31, and Trevor Myers, 29, also took the stand
for the Crown.
Mr.
Myers told the jury it was David Upton who hired him to pick
up the money the American applicants sent through Western
Union. Paul Upton also testified to his brother's involvement
but said it was co-accused Nelson Higginbotham who headed
up the operation.
Paul
Upton and Mr. Myers have since pleaded guilty to their role
in the scams; Mr. Upton received two years' probation for
a single count of fraud, while Mr. Myers was sentenced to
18 months' probation for one count of possession of more than
$5,000 in property obtained through crime.
The
Crown withdrew the remaining charges for both men.
Mr.
Higginbotham, 42, was never tried because he died in a 2006
house fire before his case could go to court.
Outside
the courtroom Thursday, Crown attorneys Mark Hareema and Andrew
Macdonald said they are pleased with the outcome.
"The
jury took its time going through the indictment and the evidence,
and then (proceeded) accordingly," said Mr. Macdonald.
Mr.
Upton will return to court for sentencing on Nov. 20.
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