A woman from Garden River First Nation has been handed a two-year conditional sentence for fraudulently obtaining a loan worth more than $300,000 while employed as the community’s housing manager in 2021.
Anne Headrick will serve the first 18 months of her sentence under house arrest in the First Nation and will be bound by a curfew for the last six months, according to a decision handed down in a Sault Ste. Marie courtroom Tuesday.
The former housing manager was initially charged by Ontario Provincial Police in December 2022 for uttering a pair of forged documents after an investigation was launched by members of the OPP Anti-Rackets Branch earlier that year. Headrick pleaded guilty to the offence on Jan. 30.
The court heard that Headrick produced a letter of indemnity guaranteeing a loan, in addition to producing a band council resolution bearing the forged signatures of nine council members while in a “position of authority” as the band’s housing manager in December 2021.
Headrick subsequently secured a $330,000 loan from the Royal Bank of Canada through a housing loan program. But that loan was “never actually approved by the band,” Ontario Court Justice John Condon told the court Tuesday.
A portion of the loan was used to pay down a mortgage, with more than $54,000 going directly into her bank account and $15,500 being applied to what Headrick owed on her credit card.
Headrick has since paid back the majority of the loan.
In his decision, Condon noted that fraud and forgery involving large amounts of cash is a “serious offence,” and that Headrick committed an “egregious breach of trust” by forging documents in order to secure the loan while employed as Garden River’s housing manager.
In his judgment, Condon said that “abusing a position of trust for personal gain” must be denounced in the sentence, as Garden River First Nation and the Royal Bank were both placed in financial risk as a result of Headrick’s misconduct, which amounted to “living beyond her means.”
An early guilty plea by Headrick and taking full responsibility for her actions were considered mitigating factors, in addition to her commitment to repairing the harm she caused to both her family and community.
A Gladue report — used to outline the background of an Indigenous offender — also showed that the former housing manager was estranged from her culture from an early age, while witnessing the impacts of colonization through alcohol misuse among older family members.
The court also heard that Headrick has been taking “significant steps” towards spiritual and cultural rehabilitation by reconnecting with her Anishinaabe culture.
The court ultimately agreed that a conditional sentence is appropriate and reasonable given the circumstances.
Headrick will serve 18 months of house arrest at her primary residence in Garden River First Nation, but may leave the premises for medical emergencies, counselling, post-secondary education, employment and attending both cultural ceremonies and special events. She will also have four-hour windows on Wednesdays and Sundays to obtain the necessities of life.
After serving 15 months, Headrick will also have permission to reside at her second address for 14 consecutive days at a time. The former housing manager will then be bound by a curfew where she is not permitted to leave her residence between the hours of 10 p.m. and 6 a.m. during the final six months of her sentence.
Headrick has also been ordered to not communicate with a number of community members, including past and present council members, as part of her sentencing.
She was ordered to provide a DNA sample following Tuesday’s sentencing hearing.