Summerside cottage contractor sentenced to house arrest for fraud

A contractor in Summerside, P.E.I., has been sentenced to 14 months of house arrest for fraud, after he failed to build cottages he was paid to build.

Brandon Lloyd Waite, 30, was sentenced in Summerside provincial court on Tuesday. 

Waite pleaded guilty to one of three charges of fraud over $5,000, while the court stayed two other counts.

He is taking part in a restorative justice program, which has him meeting with all his victims and speaking with them about how his actions affected them.

Unique approach to restorative justice

In court, Crown attorney Chad McQuaid described the restorative justice process as a unique approach, and said it had helped Waite gain a better recognition of the harms he had done.

McQuaid said Waite was "positive and engaged" in discussions, and his victims were sympathetic that he had been going through a difficult time at the time he took money from them.

The 30-year-old contractor was unable to work after a 2022 injury, the court heard, which played a role in his behaviour. He is now employed full time, and can do carpentry work. 

It's estimated Waite took about $140,000 from his victims. The court heard agreements were reached to pay his victims pack, either in cash over time, or through volunteer work.

Victims include non-profit group

Lawyers read out an agreed statement of facts in court. It said that Waite was the sole owner of the Cottage Company, and that he had signed a number of contracts in 2021 and early 2022.

The complainants included two couples, as well as Community Inclusions, a West Prince charity for adults with intellectual disabilities. 

Waites's guilty plea was connected to a contact he signed with a Nova Scotia couple who had been planning a vacation home on P.E.I. They lost their $50,000 downpayment.

When provincial court judge Krista MacKay asked Waite if he wanted to say anything in court, he declined.

His 14-month house arrest comes with a number of conditions, including that he may leave for approved reasons such as work, appointments and volunteering related to the restorative justice agreements he made with his victims. 

Once his sentence is completed, he will also serve three years' probation.