Theft Lawyers in Toronto | Defend Shoplifting Charges

In June 2020, the Firm resolved a $5000 Home Depot theft and fraud ring without a criminal record in Scarborough in its R. v. M.K. [2020]. The accused was allegedly stealing and returning merchandise at various locations and had 13 fraud related charges. Retail theft has been on the rise with undercover operatives catching offenders. Retailers have a strong interest in apprehending shoplifters because of rising inflation, the business costs associated with theft and to send a message to other shoppers. If you are charged with theft, fingerprints and photographs will be taken and stored by the RCMP. Retailers have been upgrading their video surveillance and data analytics to gather evidence and arrest shoppers at later dates, even after they have left the store.

In October 2020, the Firm secured a withdrawal of a $30,000.00 internal employee theft allegations, where the accused was allegedly stealing merchandise from the employer with her manager. The defence was able to raise doubt with respect to the evidence and surveillance, ultimately withdrawing the allegation of theft over $5000 in its R. v. E.K. [2020]. Her manager was in fact the one primarily responsible for the organized internal theft and tried to blame the Firm’s client who was her subordinate. The Firm was able to show our client was not involved and was actually subject to a power imbalance and influence of her manager.

In 2021, the Firm defended an individual charged with falsifying employment records and theft over $5,000 in R. v. K.S. [2021]. The client was charged after allegedly committing time theft by falsifying time records at his job and stealing over $15,000.00 worth of wages. The Firm was able to secure a withdrawal of both charges by calling into question the credibility of evidence presented by another employee who had a prior history of fraud and by showing that the accused had completed work from home. The Firm gathered evidence that manager approval was granted which made it difficult for the business to prosecute the accused for the loss. Forensic data was also reviewed and found errors in the credentials used to log the additional time the employee allegedly did not work.

Theft is a non-violent crime that can be categorized into theft over $5,000 or under $5,000. In 2021, Statistics Canada reported 36,121 incidents of theft under $5,000 in Toronto. In comparison, the number of incidents for theft over $5,000 is 1,504 in Toronto in 2021. The Toronto Police reported 847 incidents of theft over $5,000 in Toronto in 2023, in comparison to 657 incidents in 2022. We have successfully represented Nurses, Doctors, Pharmacists, Accountants, Teachers, Financial service workers, immigrants on visas, students and government employees charged with theft. other financial institutions.

The Firm regularly defends law abiding citizens and Canadian immigrants charged with shoplifting in Toronto. The Firm has secretly resolved charges for a number of professionals, protected their license, immigration, U.S. Travel and vulnerable sector checks. Many people charged with Theft are falsely accused or simply made an honest mistake. Our client’s come to us after being held for hours by store security and have often been physically mistreated by undercover operatives. In some cases they have been coerced into making a confession which is not always legally admissible in court.

In January, 2017, the Firm resolved four Fraud related allegations without a criminal record against a Canada Post employee charged with defrauding the Bank of Nova Scotia over $50,000.00 in its R. v. S.A. [2017]. The accused was alleged to have acquired false tax documents and a fake identity. He managed to attend the branch, open a bank account and line of credit. Bank staff trained in fraud detection secretly alerted law enforcement and arrested the accused after conducting surveillance on him. The Firm was able to resolve the matter after conducting a judicial pretrial and a contested guilty plea. The Firm was able to dispose of the most serious charges and the accused was granted a conditional discharge.

In 2023, the Firm represented an individual charged with theft under $5,000 in R. v. M.F. [2023]. The accused was terminated from his place of employment and arrested after a box of merchandise went missing. Security cameras confirmed the accused took the merchandise to his desk prior to it going missing. The Firm reviewed the disclosure, pointing out various issues early on in the case. After Crown negotiations the Firm resolved the matter with the withdrawal of the charge. Just because there is evidence of theft, even surveillance, doesn’t mean its always legally admissible. The defence was able to exclude this evidence in the context of the prosecution.

In the Firm’s R. v. O.I. [2019], it managed to resolve a $170,000.00 combined civil and criminal internal employee fraud allegation without a criminal record. The employee was allegedly returning false merchandise and diverting the money to his personal bank account. The company discovered the loss through an internal audit and tracing the transaction records to his bank account. The Firm was able to exclude a significant portion of the alleged loss by challenging the inventory evidence presented by loss prevention of the company.

The Firm further secured a a withdrawal of theft under $5000 for a Doctor caught with over $3000.00 in merchandise from The Bay in its R. v. S.Y. [2016]. The Firm was also able to destroy his records and protect his license to practice, passing a vulnerable sector check. Jordan Donich has worked with The Bay Corporate Headquarters in New York to resolve internal employer-employee theft rings in Toronto before criminal charges are even reported to police.

In July 2017, the Firm resolved an $18,500.00 cash theft from a CIBC bank employee on the job without a record, in its R. v. D.D. [2017]. The employee was caught on video free bagging money at the downtown Toronto headquarters. The Firm brought a CIBC representative to the judicial pretrial with the Crown which secured the unusually lenient outcome.

In March 2016, the Firm resolved a $1,500.00 Fraud and Theft Under $5,000 allegation from The Bay, without a Criminal Record, where a Bay Street employee was charged with Shoplifting and caught by undercover security in the menswear department in its R. v. C.T. [2016]. The Firm further secured a withdrawal of nine (9) charges of Theft and Fraud from The Bay after a year of litigation in its R. v. G.E. [2016]. In the Firm’s R. v. G.G. [2015], it successfully defended a BMO bank teller charged with Theft and Fraud Under $5,000 for allegedly robbing the bank on the job. All charges were withdrawn. In all of the above noted cases there was video surveillance implicating the accused.

The Firm secured a withdrawal of eight theft and fraud charges in its R. v. K.L [2015], including Conspiracy to Commit an Indictable Offence for a Target Canada and Staples Shoplifting Ring. In its R. v. J.A. [2016], the Firm secured a withdrawal of three theft, attempt theft and fraud charges against the accused who was allegedly involved in an internal employer-employee theft ring where $3000 in Blue Jays merchandise went missing from the Rogers Center.