""To defraud is to deprive by deceit," Crown counsel Michael Gillen said in his opening remarks in Ontario Court, where Mr. Carter faces five charges of fraud under $5,000.
Mr. Gillen told Justice Paul Bellefontaine that Mr. Carter, who offered counselling for children and conducted assessments of parents in child custody cases, defrauded clients in two ways: by portraying himself as a fully accredited psychologist, and by arriving at diagnoses he was not licensed to offer.
Five complainants were defrauded and some had child custody cases adversely affected by Mr. Carter's work, Mr. Gillen alleged. Mr. Carter has pleaded not guilty to all counts.........
Defence layer Greg Lafontaine has argued there's no evidence Mr. Carter attempted to mislead individual complainants about his credentials. And he criticized some of the Crown's allegations against Mr. Carter, claiming they don't meet the test for fraud charges.
"It is an absurd theory of fraud," Mr. Lafontaine said. "(The) whole prosecution is monumentally misguided and a complete disaster from the get-go.""
REPORTER JEFF MITCHELL; NEWSDURHAMREGION.COM;
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"OSHAWA -- Clients were defrauded by a Whitby-based psychological associate who exaggerated his qualifications and offered professional opinions that were beyond his capabilities, a prosecutor said as the trial of Greg Carter began Wednesday afternoon," the newsdurhamregion.com story by reporter Jeff Mitchell published earlier today under the heading, "Clients duped by Whitby man's false credentials: Crown," begins.
""To defraud is to deprive by deceit," Crown counsel Michael Gillen said in his opening remarks in Ontario Court, where Mr. Carter faces five charges of fraud under $5,000," the story continues.
"Mr. Gillen told Justice Paul Bellefontaine that Mr. Carter, who offered counselling for children and conducted assessments of parents in child custody cases, defrauded clients in two ways: by portraying himself as a fully accredited psychologist, and by arriving at diagnoses he was not licensed to offer.
Five complainants were defrauded and some had child custody cases adversely affected by Mr. Carter's work, Mr. Gillen alleged. Mr. Carter has pleaded not guilty to all counts.
Mr. Carter, who was certified by the College of Psychologists of Ontario as a psychological associate, had a number of limitations on his practice, court heard. But he exceeded those limitations, particularly in instances where he offered diagnoses of personality disorders, Mr. Gillen said.
"It is the Crown's submission he was not entitled to do that," he said.
Defence layer Greg Lafontaine has argued there's no evidence Mr. Carter attempted to mislead individual complainants about his credentials. And he criticized some of the Crown's allegations against Mr. Carter, claiming they don't meet the test for fraud charges.
"It is an absurd theory of fraud," Mr. Lafontaine said. "(The) whole prosecution is monumentally misguided and a complete disaster from the get-go."
The Crown is expected to call several former clients of Mr. Carter, as well as the registrar of the College of Psychologists, and a psychologist who filed a complaint about Mr. Carter's conduct.
Court will hear that Mr. Carter professed to have obtained a PhD from a Hawaii-based university that has been characterized as a diploma mill.
"That degree ... was not considered to be from an accredited school and was not accepted by the College of Psychologists," Mr. Gillen said.
The trial continues in Oshawa."
The story can be found at:
http://newsdurhamregion.com/news/crime/article/179460
PUBLISHER'S NOTE: The Toronto Star, my previous employer for more than twenty incredible years, has put considerable effort into exposing the harm caused by Dr. Charles Smith and his protectors - and into pushing for reform of Ontario's forensic pediatric pathology system. The Star has a "topic" section which focuses on recent stories related to Dr. Charles Smith. It can be found at:
http://www.thestar.com/topic/charlessmith
Information on "The Charles Smith Blog Award"- and its nomination process - can be found at:
http://smithforensic.blogspot.com/2011/05/charles-smith-blog-award-nominations.html
Harold Levy: Publisher; The Charles Smith Blog; hlevy15@gmail.com;
