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A jury reconvened in a Kelowna courtroom on Tuesday to hear evidence in the trial of two principals from a Vernon tax firm who have been charged with defrauding the government nearly $10 million.
Donna Marie Stancer and her business partner Deanna Lynn LaValley were charged with filing false income tax returns between 2010 and 2012 by claiming $191 million in false expenses. The two Vernon women owned the tax preparation firm DeMara Consulting Inc., before it was shut down after a 2012 raid by the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA).
Stancer took to the stand Tuesday afternoon to be questioned by her defence lawyer Michael Newcombe. Newcombe asked Stancer about how she got involved with the illegal scheme known as tax reorganization and nicknamed The Remedy.
Stancer said the scheme was allegedly taught to her by a number of associates at meetings she attended in Alberta. The 62-year-old detailed how she was taught “how to use T5s and T5008s, and how to use the criminal code”.
“If this is right and this is legal, then we can help thousands of people,” said Stancer when asked if she did research into the Remedy to ensure it was legal.
In front of the jury of seven women and five men, Stancer said she checked the CRA website for warnings, and then read all the bulletins on the website to find information about the use of T5, T5A, and T5008 forms.
“We had spent quite a bit of time talking to people about it, people who had used it in the past,” explained Stancer.
But the Remedy was not legal, and the $191,145,031 in false expense claims for at least 240 clients and resulting refunds were not legal either. Justice Allison Beames made this point very clear to the jury, so they would not get confused during the testimony.
“There’s no legitimacy to the Remedy,” Beames said directly to the 12 person jury. “It was not a legal method for a tax return. It was an inappropriate way to file.”
At times Stancer faltered while on the stand while giving her testimony, saying that she was dealing with memory loss issues. She could not recall the names of some employees during the time period DeMara was in business in Vernon. Nor could she recall details related to whether or not the company made a profit during its three years of business, stating that it made a small profit in 2012, she thinks.
DeMara Consulting opened on January 3rd, 2011 and closed its doors in September 2013 following the raid conducted by the CRA. During that time, the company would help members file the Remedy returns for a charge starting at $400. The very complicated process involved taking a person’s income, filing for a business licence, claiming debts into capital losses, and claiming personal expenses as business expenses. The end result would be to reduce or eliminate taxes owing to the government.
During her testimony, Stancer claimed that several people were involved with DeMara Consulting including Tim and Joanne Meizner, a woman in Alberta named Phillis Young, and another man, Michael Earl. But it was a man named David Gradwell who taught her the Remedy during a session in Edmonton, claims Stancer. Stancer thought she was doing everything by the book, according to her research.
The testimony continued as Stancer told the jury that at one point over the years, Tim Meizner had told her that they could be offered protection from the CRA by registering a church in their names. She alleged that she was told the CRA could not seize records because of the extra protection a church offered. A corporation was registered in Nevada under her name as a result.
Stancer, who claimed to be an ordained minister since 2006, also said she has a kinesiology background, as well as an accounting background. Testimony from Stancer will continue on Thursday, with LeValley’s lawyer Grant Grey questioning her before Crown Counsel will have a chance to cross examine her.
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