Serial Nova Scotia fraudster sentenced to 4.5 years in prison for forgery, impersonation - BERITAJA

A serial fraudster successful Nova Scotia has been sentenced to 4 and a half years successful situation aft pleading blameworthy to a agelong database of charges.

Supreme Court Justice James Chipman sentenced Alissa MacGillivary, besides known arsenic Katherine MacDougall, connected Thursday to 54 months down bars.

The database of offences she was recovered guilty of includes submitting mendacious claims of dormant family members successful bid to person paid time off from respective jobs, arsenic good arsenic receiving income assistance payments nether mendacious pretenses.

She pleaded blameworthy successful December 2025 to 19 counts stemming from about 50 charges involving fraud, forgery and impersonation.

Crown lawyer William Mathers says it’s difficult to find a fraud lawsuit arsenic utmost arsenic this one.

“I’ve personally ne'er seen thing for illustration it,” he said.

Justice Chipman said MacGillivary admitted she provided unreliable accusation to the tribunal during the sentencing phase. She claimed she was Indigenous astatine 1 constituent during the proceedings and past later withdrew that assertion.

“There were definite things the Crown said straight you’re lying about, for instance, the degrees from Dalhousie (University), the beingness of different children, moreover done the sentencing phase,” said Mathers.

According to an agreed connection of facts, MacGillivary was hired astatine respective businesses utilizing a scope of clone names. She obtained paid bereavement time off from Southland Transportation by falsely claiming she had a three-year-old girl who was killed by a drunk driver successful Newfoundland.

She was past employed astatine Kent Building Supplies, nether a different alias, wherever co-workers and the institution raised $3,000 for her aft she made akin mendacious claims.

“She went aft a man for kid support for a kid that didn’t exist. She manufactured the creation of the child, manufactured a aesculapian information that would explicate the unexpected pregnancy,” said Mathers.

Before her apprehension successful 2024, she utilized akin strategies to get paid time off from jobs astatine Bishop’s Cellar and Krown Rust.

Court documents besides show she defrauded what was past known arsenic the Department of Community Services of about $20,000 betwixt 2017 and 2024.

MacGillivary has apologized for her actions but Justice Chipman said the civilized culpability of her actions falls “at the highest extremity of the spectrum.”