One chapter in contractor Scott Eisemann’s ongoing fraud saga will soon come to a close.
In cases dating back to 2017, the Brechin-based contractor allegedly collected more than $300,000 in payments from clients in the Simcoe-Muskoka area, and either failed to complete the projects or never delivered the promised work.
Facing 13 charges in total, Eisemann appeared in court in Orillia on Wednesday for a sentencing hearing on the Hal Gaber case, the lone charge he has been convicted of to date.
Crown attorney Neil Riley is seeking a 3.5-year jail sentence for that conviction. Eisemann collected $125,000 from Gaber to tear down a structure on Gaber’s Oro-Medonte property and construct a new home.
Although Eisemann collected payment in three instalments between 2019 and 2020, he never began the work.
Riley pointed to Eisemann’s lengthy criminal record — which dates back nearly 20 years and includes numerous fraud convictions and jail sentences — in his argument for a 3.5-year sentence.
“The elephant in the room is Mr. Eisemann’s criminal record … almost a 20-year track record for criminal fraud convictions,” Riley said.
Although 10 years have passed since Eisemann’s fraud conviction in 2014, Riley noted Eisemann soon resumed fraudulent activity after completing his two-year sentence at the time.
“This wasn’t a reckless business decision … This was fraud,” Riley said. “The investigation started in 2018, (so there is) relatively little gap in resuming fraudulent activities.”
Beyond the 3.5-year sentence, the Crown is seeking a concurrent freestanding restitution order and fine in lieu of forfeiture totalling $125,000, as well as a DNA order and a non-communication order with Gaber.
Across Eisemann’s five previous fraud convictions, totalling $76,000 in restitution orders, Riley highlighted Eisemann “hasn’t made any payments towards restitution” and said the fine in lieu of forfeiture can be used as “an enforcement mechanism to ensure payment.”
The Crown is seeking a five-year window for Eisemann to repay the fine in lieu of forfeiture, but Eisemann’s defence lawyer is seeking a period of 20 years for repayment.
“On the note of fine in lieu of forfeiture, I would like to disagree with (the Crown), but I won’t,” said Eisemann’s lawyer, Melina Macchia. “(I’d like to) impose a far greater period of time (of) 20 years.”
Regarding Eisemann’s sentence, Macchia argued for a lesser penitentiary sentence of two years, referring to case law with far larger figures, totalling hundreds of thousands in fraud, that resulted in sentences far shorter than the three-and-a-half years proposed by the Crown.
“Three-and-a-half years is almost double the last sentence he served for fraud 10 years ago. (Riley) provided no authority with respect to an appropriate range,” she said.
“All of the authorities that we have relied on … establish a range for jail sentences in persons who were in far more aggravating circumstances … lower than what we are asking for.”
The Crown, however, argued Eisemann’s significant history of fraud contributed to the requested sentence of three-and-a-half years, with the majority of Macchia’s case examples representing first-time fraud convictions.
Macchia also said Eisemann has experienced significant substance use issues dating back more than 20 years, as well as mental health issues — though the Crown noted Eisemann has never received a formal diagnosis — as something “for your honour to consider (in determining a) fit and appropriate sentence.”
Macchia presented three character reference letters to the court Wednesday, testifying to Eisemann’s “honesty and truthfulness” and “loving nature,” which Macchia said demonstrates his “potential to be rehabilitated.”
Following arguments, Justice A.M. Nicholls set Eisemann’s sentencing date for Sept. 3.
Eisemann will also appear in court Aug. 8 for a judicial pretrial on his remaining 12 charges, six of which he had previously pleaded guilty to before successfully getting the pleas struck from the record.
Following the proceedings, Kim Burt, one of Eisemann’s alleged victims, expressed frustration with Eisemann’s continued fraudulent activities over the years, but he found solace in the fact Eisemann still has a dozen charges to answer to.
“The only satisfaction for me is it’s a continuum,” he said. “He can make his video court appearances and keep getting time tacked on.”
