Article content
A Brantford woman, who went to prison in 2009 after stealing about $1.5 million from the retirement fund of a group of nuns, has pleaded guilty to fraud and forgery charges.
Article content
Anne Francis Griffiths, 58, pleaded guilty last week in Ontario Court in Simcoe to committing fraud over $5,000.
In a separate case in Brantford, last October, she pleaded guilty to uttering a forged document.
In the Simcoe case, Griffiths was accused of forging and cashing cheques while working at a Norfolk County company from November 2020 to May 2021.
Justice Gethin Edward sentenced her to a 23-month community sentence, which includes house arrest, and placed her on probation for two years.
Griffiths already was serving a community sentence due to the Brantford charge. In that case, she falsely cashed a company cheque for $7,500 in April 2021.
In that case, she was ordered by Justice Robert Gee to remain in her home for six months.
Article content
She also was placed on probation for one year and ordered to stay away from the Brantford company and its owner.
An accountant, Griffiths worked for the Sisters of St. Joseph in 2005 and 2006 when she made 869 false accounting entries, transferring tens of thousands of dollars to herself and to family accounts. Much of the money went to buy and furnish a seven-bedroom home in Brantford that featured a saltwater pool and hot tub. She also had luxury vehicles.
At a sentencing hearing in 2009, Justice James Ramsay was told the funds were from salaries earned by a group of 67 nuns who worked as nurses and teachers.
“You wanted to live like a rock star and didn’t mind if the sisters paid for it,” said the judge before sending Griffiths to prison for three years.
SGamble@postmedia.com
@EXPSGamble