R. v. A.S.A.

(Calgary, P.C. - Fraud Over $5000). A.S. was charged with fraud over $5000 for an alleged incident involving a family member. The Prosecution's evidence was very weak. The primary witness was a person who likely did not have capacity to testify and from defence counsel's perspective, the bank records did not prove that the accused put any financial interests at risk. 

A criminal fraud can be difficult to prove. Perhaps one of the most significant issues to any fraud case is the investigation by police. Since fraud is open to interpretation and since all people, including police officers, may have difficult discerning poor financial decisions and legitimate financial decisions from actual loss, it is not unusual to see fraud charged where it should not be. 

Defending a fraud case is also difficult. Since fraud cases are often document intensive cases that require a careful inspection of all records, it is incumbent on the criminal defence lawyer to avoid the pitfall of accepting the police synopsis of the case. 

In A.S., defence counsel forwarded a detailed legal analysis to the Prosecutor who in turn diligently reviewed the entire body of disclosure.  Ultimately the case was withdrawn by the Crown.

David Chow has devoted his entire legal career to the practice of criminal law. He started in 1999 as a law student, providing legal assistance to people in need at Student Legal Assistance (S.L.A.). In 2000 he continued this path helping accused people at Calgary Legal Guidance (C.L.G.). He joined Alberta Justice in 2002 and after completing articles, he became a full time Crown Prosecutor in 2003.  David Chow left the Crown Prosecutor's Office ini 2005 to work with Patrick C. Fagan, K.C.. Since 2005, David has spent his legal career as a full time practicing Calgary criminal defence lawyer. During this time, David has defended many clients charged with complex criminal frauds.