Trial date to be set on fraud charges
By Delon Shurtz - Lethbridge Herald on June 28, 2023.
LETHBRIDGE HERALDdshurtz@lethbridgeherald.com A Lethbridge businessman who pleaded guilty last month to more than a dozen fraud-related charges, is expected to set a trial date when he returns to court in August.The matter for Grant Ryan Stevenson was in Lethbridge court of justice Tuesday, where his lawyer was granted an adjournment to Aug. 17 to confirm a date for the accused’s trial. That date is expected to be determined during a pre-trial conference on Aug. 16, during which any trial issues and estimated trial length will also be discussed.
Stevenson, 41, pleaded guilty May 23 to 11 counts of unauthorized use of a credit card and seven counts of using a forged document. He also elected to be tried in the Alberta Court of Justice.
Stevenson was charged after police with the economic crimes unit began an investigation into a Lethbridge business in 2021.
Police allege more than two dozen people were defrauded of $500,000 between 2018 and 2021 through business dealings, which included credit card fraud and the advanced payment of fees for services that were not provided.
The matter has been adjourned numerous times since Stevenson was arrested and charged last summer. Many of the delays were required to allow the accused time to retain a lawyer, and during a court hearing in December all but 18 of the initial 62 charges were withdrawn. The Crown also confirmed at the time that there are “thousands of pages of disclosure and information.” Follow @DShurtzHerald on Twitter 4
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