Collins agrees to repay $300K in fraud case

Randy Collins, a former Newfoundland and Labrador politician who pleaded guilty to fraud charges, has agreed to repay nearly $300,000 of the money he received in connection with a house of assembly spending scandal.

"What I did was wrong," Collins, 57, told a Supreme Court judge Friday at his sentencing hearing. "I cannot undo that, no matter how much I might want to."

Collins,who was a member of the New Democratic Party and represented Labrador West in thelegislature,pleaded guilty in September to charges of fraud over $5,000 and fraud on the government. An agreed statement of facts was read into the record Friday morning.

The court was told Collins admitted to submitting falsified, forged or duplicitous expense claims for which he was reimbursed more than $100,000.

Collins admitted to submitting receipts for payments to individuals for work that was never done. He forged the signatures on fake receipts, some bearing fictitious names.

Collinsalso received more than $15,000 to carry out research on gambling with video lottery terminals, an issue he crusaded on when he was in politics. The research was never done, however.

The statement of facts also said Collins committed fraud against the government by paying $10,025 in personal cheques to Bill Murray, the former financial director at the house of assembly, who also faces charges in relation to the spending scandal.

A timeline detailed for the court shows Collins started bribing Murray less than three years afterentering politics. He was first elected in February 1999 and wrote thefirst of 24 cheques to Murray in December 2001.

"We are not talking about a momentary lapse of judgment," Crown prosecutor Frances Knickle told the court. "We are talking about deliberate steps."

Knickle asked Judge Lois Hoegg to give Collins jail time of 15 monthsto 24 months, in part because of the high-profile position he held in public office.

"If we can't rely on people to behave honestly in those capacities, it's a troubling day," Knickle told the court. "What is just in this case is a severe sanction for the conduct."

Repaid $90K so far

Collins's lawyer, Ed Hearn, said a conditional sentence would be appropriate for this case,given that Collins pleaded guilty andis paying all the money back.

"Mr. Collins made serious errors," Hearn said. "He has accepted responsibility. He does not attempt to absolve himself of responsibility."

Collins has agreed to repay just under $300,000 and has already made some "substantial payments," Hearn said.

Collins has repaid $90,000 so far. He is sellinghis home and has agreed to use the proceeds to repay the money.

The court also heard he recently suffered a heart attack, believed to have been brought on by the stress of the scandal.

After Hoegg heard the facts of the case,Collins spoke to the court.

"I sincerely apologize for my actions that led to my being here," he said. "If someone had told menine years ago that I would have been standing here today, I would have told them they were crazy."

Collins said he will pay all the money back.

"If it takes every penny that I make over the next few years it will be done."

Four former politicians, a former administrative officer at the legislature and a St. John's businessman were all charged after the auditor general uncovered millions of dollars of questionableor illegal spending.

The auditor general reported that Collins received nearly $360,000 from his constituency allowance that he wasn't entitled to. He resigned in 2007, a year after being named in the scandal.

Heogg said she'll sentence Collins on Jan. 15.