Former Burlington Citizen of Year discharged in fraud case

Stu Chapman will repay $15,000 after pleading guilty to making a false statement in his handling of finances of the city’s Royal Canadian Army Cadet Corps.

Chapman, 76, was given the most lenient sentence available, an absolute discharge, by Justice Fred Forsyth during an appearance in Burlington court Monday.

Chapman’s lawyer Paul Stunt says his client will repay $15,000 to the corps.

Chapman had five other charges all related to the same Halton police investigation, including three counts of fraud over $5,000 and two counts of breach of trust, withdrawn by the Halton Crown attorney’s office.

Although Chapman is deemed by law not to not have been convicted with his absolute discharge, he still technically has a police record with his admission of guilt in the case.

Burlington’s 1998 Citizen of the Year, Chapman was charged in October 2009 following investigation of his volunteer work with the Royal Canadian Army Cadet Corps in Burlington, specifically during the years 2007 and 2008.

An agreed statement of facts involving Chapman’s lawyer, Paul Stunt, and the Halton Crown attorney’s representative from the Hamilton Crown’s office, Craig Fraser, as well as a joint sentencing submission from the same two lawyers recommending Chapman receive an absolute discharge was accepted by the court.

Chapman, married for 53 years and the father of four, offered no comment outside court afterwards and left with several family members.

Prior to sentencing, Chapman told the court “The past 15 months have been extremely stressful for my wife and myself,”

He said it was eased somewhat by the support of family and friends.

Chapman pled guilty to inappropriately paying himself between $17,000-$19,000 between 2007 and 2008 while serving as the unpaid volunteer chairof the support committee with the Royal Canadian Army Cadets Corps Local 2379 on Fairview Street. He was responsible for preparing and submitting the corps’ yearly financial records.

Chapman also used cadet corps funds to pay three other cadet volunteers who should not have been paid.

“They were small amounts,” Hamilton assistant Crown Fraser told the Burlington Post, noting the three people did not realize they weren’t supposed to receive any money.

It was another administrator within the cadets corps that began to question a section of the corps’ year-end financial statements after noticing a sharp rise in expenses over two years for Chapman.

Stunt said Chapman had to pay between $7,000-$8,000 in back taxes and interest to the Canada Revenue Agency for the cadet corps money he gave himself and that his client intends to pay $15,000 back to the local army cadet corps.

Justice Forsyth acknowledged in court it is unusual for someone to plead guilty to a fraud-related charge involving money to then be given an absolute discharge.

Citing Chapman’s guilty plea prior to the start of a trial, his lack of a criminal record to that point, the shame he has brought upon himself in the last 15 months and the 20 letters of support for Chapman submitted to the court from many high-profile Burlington residents, Forsyth said an absolute discharge was appropriate in this case.

“There is no reason to think Mr. Chapman would ever get in front of a judge again in the role of an accused person … I believe it was an error in judgment by Mr. Chapman…. The letter writers are from a cross-section of business, religious and political sectors, and ordinary friends.”

Forsyth said the letters describe the exemplary deeds of Chapman over the years, “but for this one fall from grace.”

Chapman has performed many volunteer duties since the 1950s.

Since moving to Burlington in 1963 he has served on city council committees, is a past president of the Burlington Lions-Optimist Minor Hockey Association (BLOMHA), helped found Crime Stoppers in Halton, is a past president of the local Federal Progressive Conservative Riding Association, and has assisted Friends of the Royal Hamilton Light Infantry and the Lions Club Cruise Night classic car shows.

Outside court, Chapman’s lawyer, Paul Stunt, said that in his long career, first as a Crown prosecutor and now as defence counsel, he couldn’t recall another case where he was involved where a defendant pled guilty in a fraud-related case and received an absolute discharge from a judge.

“It’s an exceptional result,” said Stunt.

THE BURLINGTON POST