A former Burnaby optician has been handed a suspended sentence with 12 months of probation for defrauding a pensioner he met at his Brentwood optical store in 2013.
Naresh Singh Mann (a.k.a. Nash Mann), 58, was in Vancouver provincial court for sentencing Friday.
It was the end of a decade-long saga that could have ended in exactly the same outcome five years ago, according to Crown prosecutor John Neal.
'It’s not just going to go away'
Mann was charged with one count of fraud over $5,000 in April 2018 and pleaded guilty in October of that year.
The plea deal on the table at that time, according to Neal, was a suspended sentence with 12 months of probation.
But there were more than three years of delays getting Mann sentenced.
Then, in January 2022, his lawyer at the time announced Mann intended to apply to change his guilty plea.
It took another 30 court dates, eight of which Mann didn't show up for, before he officially abandoned the plan Friday.
The case has seen some testy exchanges between Mann and B.C. provincial court Judge Gregory Rideout.
"You just want this to go away. It's not just going to go away," Rideout said at a hearing in June.
'Blatant' fraud but not 'super sophisticated'
The fraud at the bottom of the case was "blatant" but not "super sophisticated," according to Neal.
In 2013, Carlos Sardinha, a retired Telus installer and technician, was shopping for eyeglasses at Mann's Burnaby store, according to the agreed facts in the case.
Mann helped Sardinha, and the two got to talking.
"Mr. Mann asked him if he had some money he'd been willing to invest," Neal said.
Mann told him about an online gambling business in which he could "double his money" in six months.
"Mr. Sardinha told Mr. Mann that he couldn't afford to lose his money. Mr. Mann told him that wouldn't be a problem," Neal said.
After some further discussions and signing a written agreement, Sardinha gave Mann a $15,400 bank draft made out to a numbered company, of which Mann was a former director.
When Sardinha contacted Mann six months later to redeem his investment, however, Mann didn't return his funds as promised.
The numbered company's bank records would eventually show none of the money was invested in an online gambling business.
Instead, the bulk of the funds were spent by Mann and his wife on "business and personal expenses."
Mann paid back all of the money by November 2020.
'I'm simply glad that this is done'
At his sentencing Friday, Neal and defence lawyer Josh Oppal both called for the suspended sentence with 12 months of probation.
But Neal argued Mann should also be compelled to provide a sample of his DNA to police.
While the fraud didn't involve a large sum of money, Neal argued it was still a "serious crime, especially to Mr. Sardinha."
"He befriended a stranger, who was retired and told him he couldn't afford to lose this money, and took $15,000 and spent it on himself," Neal said.
Oppal argued against the DNA order, noting Mann, a father of three adult children, had no previous criminal record, had pleaded guilty and had repaid the money he took.
"He's been a productive member of society but for this offence," Oppal said.
Rideout ultimately declined to make the order but accepted the rest of the joint sentencing plan.
During his probation, Mann will have to report to a probation officer, not change his residence without notifying the probation officer and complete 50 hours of community work service within nine months.
"I’m simply glad that this is done," Rideout said after imposing Mann's sentence.
Follow Cornelia Naylor on Twitter @CorNaylor
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