HALIFAX — A Halifax man who operated an engineering company has been sentenced to three years in jail and fined after being found guilty of multiple counts of fraud and tax evasion.
The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) has reported that Ralston MacDonnell of Halifax and three of his related companies were found guilty May 18 in Halifax Provincial Court of seven counts of fraud and four counts of tax evasion.
MacDonnell was fined a total of $301,511.25 in addition to his jail term, while his firms were fined a total of $301,516.25.
In addition to the court-imposed fine, MacDonnell will also have to pay the full amount of tax owing, plus related interest and any penalties assessed by the CRA.
A CRA investigation revealed that MacDonnell operated an engineering firm in Halifax that splintered into three related companies: MacDonnell Security Risk Management Ltd., MacDonnell Group of Canada Ltd., and the numbered company 3182552 Nova Scotia Limited. From 2009 to 2014, MacDonnell and his three companies collected Goods and Services Tax/Harmonized Sales Tax (GST/HST) and Payroll Source Deductions and systematically failed to remit them to the CRA.
A 2012 news story on the MacDonnell website said Ralston MacDonnell was the president of a firm called MacDonnell.
A CRA release said MacDonnell made false and deceptive statements in dealings with the CRA, which included the evasion of requirements to pay and the withholding of information. MacDonnell also used cheques knowing they were drawn from an account that had insufficient funds.
During the same period, MacDonnell diverted corporate funds into personal bank accounts unknown to the CRA to cover personal expenses, including three mortgages, a car lease and other personal spending, the release stated.
During the period from Jan. 1, 2009 to Dec. 31, 2014, MacDonnell and his three companies defrauded the government of Canada by collecting and failing to remit GST/HST and payroll source deductions totalling $961,700.55.
From April 1, 2020, to March 31, 2021, there were 36 convictions of tax evasion in Canada, the CRA reported, with 15 taxpayers sent to jail for a total of 26.2 years. The convicted individuals were sentenced for wilfully evading payment amounts totalling $10,902,950 in tax.
The CRA statement noted, “Any individual or business who underreports income, or claims losses or benefits to which they are not entitled, including ineligible claims for COVID-19 benefits, may have to repay the benefit amounts and may be subject to other possible action.”
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