A former finance manager who defrauded a Burnaby seniors care home during the COVID-19 pandemic should go to jail for 16 months, according to the Crown prosecutor on the case.At a hearing last Wednesday, Crown prosecutor Paul Pietrusinski argued Hirji should get a 16-month jail sentence, two years of probation and an order forcing him to repay the money he took.
Within weeks of his promotion, Hirji wrote himself three fraudulent cheques worth a total of $7,000 from the society’s petty cash account. After he resigned from that position, the company noticed two missing cheques and a missing signature stamp. “He will likely remain vulnerable to temptations of repeat offending should he continue to live beyond his means in order to maintain his expensive lifestyle in downtown Vancouver,” the report stated. “It is thus recommended that Mr. Hirji not be employed in a position where he might have easy access to company funds.”