| Pages in topic: [1 2] > | Tranlator charged with fraud Thread poster: printedpage
|
|---|
Hi everyone,
Some of you may have been aware of this story because it was something I had been fighting since I was scammed by this man. I am pleased to announce that the hard work put forward by myself and 23 other colleagues has finally paid off.
Here are the 2 links relating to this story. If you have been a victim of this man and would like to be a part of the trial, please let me know and I'll give you the name of the detective in charge of this case. He will gladl... See more Hi everyone,
Some of you may have been aware of this story because it was something I had been fighting since I was scammed by this man. I am pleased to announce that the hard work put forward by myself and 23 other colleagues has finally paid off.
Here are the 2 links relating to this story. If you have been a victim of this man and would like to be a part of the trial, please let me know and I'll give you the name of the detective in charge of this case. He will gladly take your deposition.
http://www.ottawasun.com/News/OttawaAndRegion/2008/12/16/7768726.html
http://www.suretequebec.gouv.qc.ca/actualites/2008/arrete-fraudes-envers-traducteurs-pigistes.jsp
Eugenia Tsatsos
La Page Imprimée ▲ Collapse
| | | | Louise Dupont (X) 
Canada
Local time: 07:20
English to French
Ça ne te redonne pas ton argent, mais au moins la liste des victimes va cesser de s'allonger...
Bonne chance pour la suite!
Louise
| | | | DocteurPC
Canada
Local time: 07:20
English to French
+ ...
| Bravo! ça en fera un de moins à abuser les traducteurs | Dec 28, 2008 |
Et si Revenu Canada et Revenu Québec s'y mettent, il risque de payer encore plus. Après tout, il facturait, entre autres, le Bureau de la Traduction (tel qu'admis par la Directrice lors d'un forum) et il était, supposément, sur l'assurance chômage -
Alors s'il a facturé le gouvernement fédéral pour (au moins) $275,000 et n'a jamais payé les traducteurs employés - où est passé cet argent? Il ne l'a sûrement pas déclaré.
| | | | printedpage
Local time: 07:20
French to English
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER
Non, rien n'a été déclaré au gouvernement : pas de revenus, ni de TPS/TVQ! Nous ne savons pas où est l'argent! Mais nous sommes contents qu'enfin un bandit a été arrêté à cause de notre persévérance...
Quand j'ai commencé ma poursuite de Whelan, je savais que je n'aurais jamais mon argent. Je voulais tout simplement l'arrêter pour qu'il n'y ait plus de victimes!
Malheureusement, nos démarches ont pris plus de 2 ans et entre-temps il y a eu plus de victim... See more Non, rien n'a été déclaré au gouvernement : pas de revenus, ni de TPS/TVQ! Nous ne savons pas où est l'argent! Mais nous sommes contents qu'enfin un bandit a été arrêté à cause de notre persévérance...
Quand j'ai commencé ma poursuite de Whelan, je savais que je n'aurais jamais mon argent. Je voulais tout simplement l'arrêter pour qu'il n'y ait plus de victimes!
Malheureusement, nos démarches ont pris plus de 2 ans et entre-temps il y a eu plus de victimes.
Eugénia
La Page Imprimée ▲ Collapse
| | |
|
|
|
Albert Stufkens
Netherlands
Local time: 13:20
Member (2008)
Dutch to English
+ ...
I completely fail to see the fraud.
Should one be authorized in Canada to do translations?
Has he made wrong translations? Did not he honour confidentiality?
I am curious.
| | | | printedpage
Local time: 07:20
French to English
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER | We were given NSF Cheques | Jan 7, 2009 |
Basically, this man was paid for the translations we did AND HE DID NOT PAY US (the translators he hired to do the work)... Instead, he chose to A) issue us cheques for insufficient funds and B) claim that he was not paid for our work.
All his clients confirmed to us that he had been paid in full. So, there is the fraud: knowingly issuing NSF cheques and not paying people for services rendered in full.
| | | | | The man did not pay but got paid | Jan 8, 2009 |
Albert Stufkens wrote:
I completely fail to see the fraud.
Should one be authorized in Canada to do translations?
Has he made wrong translations? Did not he honour confidentiality?
I am curious.
I think that the news in English were mistranslated or miswritten (as so many times -- What's going on in the press?). If you read the news in French you will see that this 50-year old man subcontracted translators to take care of jobs he never paid, but got paid from the end customers. That's the fraud.
| | | | Albert Stufkens
Netherlands
Local time: 13:20
Member (2008)
Dutch to English
+ ...
| No fraud but indeed deceit or swindle | Jan 8, 2009 |
Thank you for clarifying the matter.
The English language newspaper report is indeed lacking in its communication.
| | |
|
|
|
Vito Smolej
Germany
Local time: 13:20
Member (2004)
English to Slovenian
+ ...
SITE LOCALIZER | Not to be matched in brazenness, if not stupidity... | Jan 8, 2009 |
while doing government orders, the SoB
i) issued NSF checks to subcontractors
ii) did not declare any income (Huh!?)
iii) kept doing this for years
How brazen, if not stupid, can one be!?
The guy may have thought the police would not move on him - after all 275k- 50% (= the overhead, which was darn well hard earned) divided by 24 is worth one stolen car per case. Well, steeling one car is a little different from steeling the whole fleet...... See more while doing government orders, the SoB
i) issued NSF checks to subcontractors
ii) did not declare any income (Huh!?)
iii) kept doing this for years
How brazen, if not stupid, can one be!?
The guy may have thought the police would not move on him - after all 275k- 50% (= the overhead, which was darn well hard earned) divided by 24 is worth one stolen car per case. Well, steeling one car is a little different from steeling the whole fleet...
Thanks for sharing the story and (sigh) well done.
Regards
Vito ▲ Collapse
| | | | printedpage
Local time: 07:20
French to English
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER | We were over 50 victims... | Jan 8, 2009 |
Hi Vito,
What the story fails to mention is that there were over 50 victims since at least 2004 (if not earlier)... I don't have all the details with me right now, as I'm trying not to think of this jerk on a daily basis...
Out of the 50+ victims, only 24 of us were brave enough to sign a deposition with the police. The others A) were too afraid of the jerk (imagine that) or B) didn't think it was worth their time or energy to add their story to the list...
... See more Hi Vito,
What the story fails to mention is that there were over 50 victims since at least 2004 (if not earlier)... I don't have all the details with me right now, as I'm trying not to think of this jerk on a daily basis...
Out of the 50+ victims, only 24 of us were brave enough to sign a deposition with the police. The others A) were too afraid of the jerk (imagine that) or B) didn't think it was worth their time or energy to add their story to the list...
You do the math on how much money was not paid out to 50+ victims knowing that 24 victims represented $275,000 of fees that we billed to him. We know for a fact he invoiced his clients at least double our fees.
The jerk has also filed for bankruptcy 3 times and in each filing, he has lied about how much money he has earned... would you even believe that this jerk has received Welfare benefits from the government because he is so good at fooling the system and making them believe that he is BROKE?! I received a phone call from the Welfare Office asking me details about the case. Imagine how angry I was hearing this?! Not only was this man keeping money from his freelancers, he was ALSO RECEIVING MORE MONEY from the government!!
So yes, he has committed fraud. It's not "deceit". It's fraud. When you willingly issue NSF cheques, hide the money, not pay your suppliers and file fradulant bankruptcies over and over, it's fraud.
The police are taking more depositions from new victims as they make themselves public now. So, if any of you have been a victim of this man, please send me an email and I will get you in touch with the detective handling the investigation. The more people that come forward, the better chance we have at putting an end to this man's "actions".
The Court date is scheduled in March 2009... We are all awaiting the outcome of the trial. It'll be interesting to see what the Court's judgement will be. ▲ Collapse
| | | | Angela Arnone
Local time: 13:20
Member (2004)
Italian to English
+ ...
| I think the technical English legal expression is actually "fraud" | Jan 8, 2009 |
Regards
Angela
Albert Stufkens wrote:
Thank you for clarifying the matter.
The English language newspaper report is indeed lacking in its communication.
| | | | Albert Stufkens
Netherlands
Local time: 13:20
Member (2008)
Dutch to English
+ ...
| Swindle indeed included fraud | Jan 8, 2009 |
With so much more background information it is clear that the swindle indeed included fraud.
Angela Arnone wrote: Regards Angela Albert Stufkens wrote:
Thank you for clarifying the matter.
The English language newspaper report is indeed lacking in its communication.
| | |
|
|
|
Vito Smolej
Germany
Local time: 13:20
Member (2004)
English to Slovenian
+ ...
SITE LOCALIZER | Any way to make the government join? | Jan 8, 2009 |
Out of the 50+ victims, only 24 of us were brave enough to sign a deposition with the police. The others A) were too afraid of the jerk (imagine that) or B) didn't think it was worth their time or energy to add their story to the list...
Point B - the salami tactics - was on my mind reading the material... I hope the government will join your ranks - fraudulent welfare benefits, Untaxed income, fraudulent bancruptcies ...
Samuel Jackson comes to my mind and his Ezekiel quote in Pulp Fiction
"Blessed is he who, in the name of charity and good will, shepherds the weak through the valley of darkness, for he is truly his brother's keeper and the finder of lost children. And I will strike down upon thee with great vengeance and furious anger those who attempt to poison and destroy my brothers..."
[Edited at 2009-01-08 18:21 GMT]
| | | | printedpage
Local time: 07:20
French to English
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER
Vito Smolej wrote:
Point B - the salami tactics - was on my mind reading the material... I hope the government will join your ranks - fraudulent welfare benefits, Untaxed income, fraudulent bancruptcies ...
[Edited at 2009-01-08 18:21 GMT]
Good question. We did advise the Welfare officer investigating the fraudulent welfare claims and he told us that he was aware of the "situation". We haven't heard anything yet from the bankruptcy trustees.
If the government believes there is money hidden and because they have lost their HUGE share, my gut tells me that they will join our ranks. The government usually gets their cut before anyone else...
I'll be sure to post the ending of this "story" after the hearing in March! It should make for interesting conversation depending on what more the police uncover and what the Court decides...
| | | | | I don't think the government will join in | Feb 9, 2009 |
I don't think the government will be a party in this case. The offences are not the same. You guys didn't get paid, and that part isn't fraud - it is called theft. The fraud is the government's part of the entire matter, and that doesn't have to do anything with you guys. You may be aware that Whelan illegally benefited from welfare cheques, that he made false declarations when he filed for bankruptcy, that he didn't declare and didn't pay tax on most of his revenue - but that is independent fr... See more I don't think the government will be a party in this case. The offences are not the same. You guys didn't get paid, and that part isn't fraud - it is called theft. The fraud is the government's part of the entire matter, and that doesn't have to do anything with you guys. You may be aware that Whelan illegally benefited from welfare cheques, that he made false declarations when he filed for bankruptcy, that he didn't declare and didn't pay tax on most of his revenue - but that is independent from your case and it is more than likely that the judge who will deal with this will not even mention the fraud part when dealing with the non-payment case. I wouldn't be surprised if the only reason you guys are getting your case is because he frauded the government. Had he not frauded the government, I bet he would still be outsourcing today...
My bet is that the government will file their papers separately, the case will be separate - and whatever monies can be recycled will go towards that case first. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if the judge in the non-payment case held off his/her judgment until the other case is closed and the government is paid.
Either way, I don't think any of the victims will get any money out of this whatsoever. If our justice system were just, the guy would be sent to prison, forced to work, and the victims would share his paycheque. But I don't think it will go down that way. In any case, stealing an estimated half million dollars, of which a substantial amount was government money, would sure be enough to send this guy to prison. But once again, I don't think it will go down that way. Most likely, he will be left alone, he will not be allowed to subcontract work, which means he will have to find a job, which, judging from his character, he will not do - and we, including the victims, will just have to keep supporting him with our tax money.
I know, the outlook is grim. But if he gets substantial punishment for his actions, then that will at least create a precedent. That will be useful for all of us. Hopefully, next time such a fraudster gets caught, authorities will act more swiftly. And then they can use the precedent.
To think that if I stole a used car worth a mere 2000$, I would rot in prison...
[Edited at 2009-02-09 19:25 GMT] ▲ Collapse
| | | | | Pages in topic: [1 2] > | To report site rules violations or get help, contact a site moderator: You can also contact site staff by submitting a support request » Tranlator charged with fraud | Wordfast Pro | Translation Memory Software for Any Platform
Exclusive discount for ProZ.com users!
Save over 13% when purchasing Wordfast Pro through ProZ.com. Wordfast is the world's #1 provider of platform-independent Translation Memory software. Consistently ranked the most user-friendly and highest value
Buy now! » |
| | TM-Town | Manage your TMs and Terms ... and boost your translation business
Are you ready for something fresh in the industry? TM-Town is a unique new site for you -- the freelance translator -- to store, manage and share translation memories (TMs) and glossaries...and potentially meet new clients on the basis of your prior work.
More info » |
|
| | | | X Sign in to your ProZ.com account... | | | | | |
Login to reply/comment 
Translation news in Canada
