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 News Around the Republic of Mexico | April 2008 
Judge Hands Down Guilty Verdict for Canadian Woman in Mexican Jail
 Canadian Press
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| | Brenda Martin sits after speaking with journalists at an office inside the Puerta Grande prison in Guadalajara, Mexico, on Wednesday, April 16, 2008. (AP/Guillermo Arias) | | |
Guadalajara, Mexico — A Mexican judge found Canadian Brenda Martin guilty Tuesday of involvement in an Internet scam run by her former boss.
Martin, 51, formerly of Trenton, Ont., was given a five-year sentence and fined 35,800 pesos in the ruling handed down by the judge.
Martin has been in jail in Mexico for two years in connection with the Internet scheme operated by her former boss, but she has consistently maintained she did not know it was a scam.
The judge's ruling, however, says she knew there were illicit funds involved.
Martin was not in the courtroom. She was informed by officials in prison shortly before the verdict was delivered.
The decision came as a huge blow to Martin and her supporters, who worry she is too fragile to handle the bad news. Martin has been on suicide watch at the prison and friends say she was terrified ahead of the verdict.
A Canadian Embassy official said the government will continue to be involved in the case and will provide assistance. A statement is expected from Ottawa.
Martin has been in a prison near Guadalajara since February 2006. She is expected to be transferred to Canada following the decision.
Martin has been held at the Puente Grande women's prison near Guadalajara since Mexican authorities arrested her more than two years ago in connection with the Internet fraud scheme.
Former Edmontonian Alyn Waage masterminded the scheme called the Tri-West Investment Club which bilked 15,000 investors out of nearly US$60 million from 1999 to 2001.
Martin worked as a chef for Waage in Puerto Vallarta but was fired in 2001 because of a disagreement about his mother.
She was paid $26,000 in severance, and invested part of that money into Waage's business. She says she didn't know his business was fraudulent - a fact Waage himself backed up in a sworn statement.
She has consistently denied having any knowledge of the scam, and Waage told The Canadian Press last month he paid Martin a year's severance simply because he felt bad about firing her.
Martin subsequently invested $10,000 of the severance pay into Tri-West - money Waage returned to her once it became clear he had been involved in illegal activities.
But Mexican prosecutors alleged that she knowingly accepted illegal funds. They pursued the case even though they admit most of their evidence against her was circumstantial. They said her "close relationship" with Waage "for a fair length of time leads to the supposition that she had some knowledge of the criminal activities in which her friend was engaged."
Martin's lawyer had unsuccessfully tried to get her case thrown out, arguing she was never provided with an interpreter - a breach of Mexican and international law.
Mexican officials blamed the constitutional challenge, or amparo, in part for prolonging Martin's criminal trial by putting it on hold until the judge ruled on the civil-rights case.
Martin's friends and family have said they feared for her mental and physical well-being, noting she had attempted to commit suicide three time while in prison and lost more than 30 pounds. They have criticized the Canadian government for not doing more to help her.
Martin's case has been something of a diplomatic eyesore.
Each media report of her plight racheted up pressure on Ottawa to press her case with Mexican officials. It also put Mexico in the unenviable position of defending the autonomy of a justice system perceived by some as rife with human-rights abuses.
Prime Minister Stephen Harper tried to downplay the notion Canada could have Martin freed by applying political pressure. But behind the scenes, Canadian and Mexican officials were said to be eager to resolve the matter. |
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