BOYLE — A Boyle woman convicted of stealing nearly $500,000 from her former employer was sentenced to two years in prison and must pay full restitution to her victims after an online gambling addiction left her in need of extra funds, and Larry Sundberg without a retirement.
Sharri Ann Johnson, 62, re-entered her guilty plea to one count of fraud over $5,000 in front of Justice Thomas Achtymichuk in Boyle Court of Justice Mar. 25, three months after being convicted by Justice Charles Gardner in early December 2024.
Related: Boyle woman awaits sentencing for fraud nearing $500,000
Achtymichuk sentenced Johnson to two years in a federal penitentiary and payment of the full amount misappropriated back to the Sundbergs, the former owners of Glare Holdings Ltd.
Following her release from custody, Johnson will be subject to a 10-year prohibition from seeking jobs or volunteer opportunities in which she would hold power over money, real property, or the valuable security of another person.
Between 2021 and 2022, Johnson made 150 fraudulent payments from her employers, trucking company Glare Holdings Ltd., to her own personal account and credit card accounts disguised as payroll, court heard. Employed with Glare as an administrative assistant from 2015 to 2022, she was given bookkeeping and payroll duties in 2018.
In total, over two years, Johnson siphoned $484,894 from the company, dollars her lawyer Daniel Chivers said went towards funding an online gambling addiction.
Former Glare Holdings Ltd. owners Larry and Val Sundberg were present for Johnson’s sentencing, Val worrying her tissue and Larry clutching an orange folder as his victim impact statement was read by Crown prosecutor Taylor Noble.
“Sharri never gave me a reason to suspect that she would sneakily rip me off as she did, she was always pleasant and seemed dedicated,” read Larry’s statement. “We included her in our Christmas appreciations.”
Larry described Glare as a textbook family business, run by himself for 32 years with the help of his children and grandchildren, who dedicated extra time to keep the company trucking while he dealt with health issues.
The Sundbergs invested more than $250,000 of their personal finances into the business to help see it thrive, but said following Johnson’s fraud, the family had to give up more than money.
“Our hope was to pass down this business to my grandsons. The betrayal and theft … forced this business to close in 2023. I was devastated, drained emotionally and financially due to her actions,” read Larry’s statement.
“We’ve all experienced much anger, remorse and heartbreak over having to shut down this business. My sons and grandsons now have to find other employment, and now my retirement is gone.“
Addiction rather than greed
The sentence accepted by Achtymichuk was jointly suggested by Crown and defense counsel, who both agreed while the fraud wasn’t committed with a high degree of planning, the timespan, the level of trust between Johnson and her employers, and the high dollar amount stolen were aggravating factors.
“This is a deliberate, continuous fraud that took place over a span of two years. There’s really no other way to categorize it other than a high degree of moral blameworthiness,” said Noble.
Chivers provided more insight into his client and her motivation from the crime. Johnson, originally from B.C., has lived in Boyle for the last 15 years with her long-term common law partner. She has children and grandchildren of her own, and has worked in administration roles since 1993.
“This started because of an online gambling addiction, and that’s where all of the monies went. As we so often see, that addiction drives this type of crime; people believe that they’ll take it and be able to pay it back in a short term, and it spirals out of control along with their addiction.
“It’s not a situation where there’s a lavish lifestyle or anything of that nature. But it’s also a situation where there’s no assets to obtain,” he said.
Achtymichuk said the impact of the crime on the Sundberg family is significant, and while the theft and subsequent closure of the company after 32 years was a major loss for three generations of the family, he did give weight to Johnson’s circumstances.
“Although the victims may not see it that way, this case is different when someone is suffering from an addiction — notwithstanding the waste of this money, it went to gambling — it still can be an addiction, and it’s not something that’s premeditated out of greed in order to gain an advantage to, as Mr. Chivers says, live a lavish lifestyle.”
Dressed in a colourful top and jacket at odds with her demeanour, Johnson could be seen wiping her eyes throughout the proceedings, and gave her partner a kiss before being escorted out the back of the courtroom by police. When given the chance to speak, she made a brief but emotional statement.
“I just want to apologize to Larry, his family, and to my family,” she said through tears.
