Two found guilty in $24m Atlas Copco fraud case.

• Author: Macdonald, Darren
• Position: NEWS

The two Quebec men convicted of defrauding mining supply giant Adas Copco's Sudbury operations to the tune of $24 million could face up to 14 years in prison, said the assistant Crown attorney who led the prosecution in the case.

"There is no minimum" sentence, Philip Zylberberg said June 29 on the steps of the Sudbury Courthouse. "The judge can do whatever the judge thinks is right ... Nothing's mandatory."

Paul Caron and Dirk Plate, both of Quebec, were each found guilty of one count of fraud over $5,000, one count of theft over $5,000, one count of conspiracy to commit fraud, and one count of conspiracy to commit theft.

The allegations are related to Adas Copco's Sudbury operations, where as much as $24 million went missing in the complicated case.

According to published reports, three employees were accused of being in on the fraud scheme and putting millions worth of kickbacks into their own bank accounts.

The third man, Leo Caron, pled guilty in 2014 and was sentenced to five years. He testified for the Crown during the trial, which began in April, almost four years after the charges were laid.

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Caron represented himself at the trial, while Plate was represented by lawyer Ralph Steinberg.

The pair will return to court on Oct. 25 for a sentencing hearing. Because of the complexity of the cause, Superior Court Justice John Poupore directed Zylberberg to have his sentencing recommendations ready 10 days before that date to give the defence time...