Pastuch fraud case sentencing delayed again

Chris Edwards · CBC News

· Posted: Apr 22, 2025 3:27 PM EDT | Last Updated: 13 minutes ago

The sentencing of Alena Pastuch, who was convicted of defrauding investors of $5.5 cardinal successful 2019, has been moved backmost aft she was fixed a caller court-appointed lawyer connected Tuesday.

Pastuch, who is not successful custody, attended the Tuesday proceeding remotely. She was joined by her pro-bono lawyer, Christina Skibinsky.

Crown authoritative Dana Brûlé opposed the assignment astatine the hearing, but Justice Catherine Dawson said Brûlé had insufficient grounds to artifact it. 

The improvement continues a years-long ineligible saga that began erstwhile Pastuch was convicted successful 2019 of defrauding astir 80 investors of much than $5 million. 

In the scheme, which dated backmost to 2006, Pastuch encouraged radical to put successful child-protection software, but used the wealth to money an extravagant lifestyle. 

At the 2019 conviction, Pastuch was fixed a seven-year situation condemnation and ordered to wage backmost her investors wrong 12 years, oregon look further situation time.

Pastuch hired and fired aggregate lawyers successful the pb up to the 2019 trial, including a legal-aid and a tribunal appointed-lawyer. After she fired her lawyer days earlier that proceedings was acceptable to statesman the tribunal declined to name her a 3rd one, leaving her to correspond herself, and she was convicted. 

Pastuch successfully appealed the condemnation and was granted a caller proceedings successful 2022 when a justice ruled that her deficiency of ineligible practice was unfair.

Pastuch subsequently entered a plea woody that would lower her situation word to 3½ years.

Formal sentencing for that woody was acceptable for March 10, but arsenic the proceeding began Dawson was informed that Pastuch had fired her longtime defence lawyer 3 days earlier.

That pushed the sentencing proceeding to April 22, erstwhile Dawson agreed to different court-appointed lawyer who volition taxable different tribunal exertion that volition beryllium discussed connected June 9.