LEVIS, Que. – Former Cornwall city councillor Brock Frost has received a conditional discharge in relation to fraud charges during his management dealings with the Cornwall River Kings.
Frost was charged April 27, 2015 and was facing fraud and forged document-related charges.
Levis, Que. police spokesman Guylaine Laflamme told Cornwall Newswatch, the matter was dealt with in the local court yesterday (Mar. 7).
Frost will be on a year’s probation and will have to complete 200 hours of community service after pleading guilty, Laflamme said.
Under a conditional discharge, the accused enters a plead of guilt to an offence but a conviction is not registered.
Frost has indicated that an absolute discharge would be coming after the year’s probation.
He will also have to pay $200 to the court within 45 days – a court surcharge.
Frost resigned from Cornwall city council in a letter submitted to city hall Oct. 26, 2015. Frost had said he underestimated the time commitment in being a city councillor and needed to concentrate on his real estate work.
The following (unedited) statement was released by Frost Tuesday afternoon:
Re: Press release concerning Quebec criminal charges – File # 200-01-192168-155
To Whom It May Concern,
On March 7th, 2016, a Provincial Court judge in Quebec City granted Brock Frost a one-year conditional discharge in the above-mentioned matter.
Frost, who was charged in April 2015 with uttering a forged document and fraud over $5000 in relation to his ownership of the Cornwall River Kings says he “couldn’t be happier with the outcome.”
By definition, a conditional discharge is a sentence passed in criminal court with no punishment and for which an individual technically pleads guilty to an offence but is deemed not to have been convicted. It is often used by the courts when the offences are considered minor in nature, a lack of criminal intent exists and the accused has no previous criminal history. In Frost’s case, there will be no jail time, no fines, no penalties, no conviction and no permanent criminal record whatsoever. Frost will be required to complete 200 hours of community service over a one-year period after which he will receive an absolute discharge.
Upon a review of the facts, the charge of uttering a forged document was completely withdrawn and the fraud over $5000 charge was further reduced to fraud under $5000.
The facts of the case, read out loud in court by Crown Attorney Francois Godin, are summarized as follows:
– Frost purchased a franchise from the LNAH in 2014
– In addition to the purchase price, a security of $35,000 was required
– Frost provided 2 cheques to the LNAH – one that was cashed immediately and the other that was post-dated
– The 2nd cheque was not honoured
– The LNAH confirmed that they have not suffered any financial loss in this matter and no monies are owed by Frost
– Forgery charge to be withdrawn and fraud over $5000 reduced to fraud under $5000
Frost stated that there were essentially only two options for him to consider:
A) proceed to trial which would cost upwards of $80,000 and take 2 years to complete, not to mention the time away from home and work.
B) submit evidence to the Crown in an attempt to have the charges withdrawn/reduced and/or obtain a conditional discharge.
“Given the circumstances and carefully considering all of the potential outcomes, I am more than happy with the way things turned out. My choice to accept the conditional discharge was frankly the least expensive, most efficient and most pragmatic option I could make. This entire case was nothing more than a misunderstanding that was drastically blown out of proportion. I am simply glad it is over and I can now finally move on.”
In true sincerity,
Brock Frost