Enforcement Notification - Drone flight operations company grounded following COVID-19 subsidy fraud and tax evasion Français

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Canada Revenue Agency

Jun 12, 2025, 13:31 ET

MEDICINE HAT, AB, June 12, 2025 /CNW/ - The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) has announced that Leslie Sand of Brooks, Alberta, was sentenced on June 10, 2025, in the Medicine Hat Law Courts, to 3.5 years in jail and was fined a total of $798,709.02. Sand pleaded guilty to fraud and tax evasion.

A CRA investigation revealed that Sand was the sole shareholder of Flyte Deck Corporation, reported to the CRA as a drone flight operations and 3D printing business. Sand, the sole signing authority on the company's bank accounts, fraudulently applied for subsidies, even though Flyte Deck Corporation never engaged in any legitimate business and never had any business income. Between April 2020 to August 2022, Sand applied for subsidies through the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy, the Canada Emergency Rent Subsidy, the Hardest Hit Business Recovery Program, the Tourism and Hospitality Recovery Program, and the Canada Recovery Hiring Program. As part of the applications, Sand created and submitted false business records, false commercial lease agreements, false payroll records, false bank documents, and false lists of employees. Sand then personally appropriated $603,376.44 from Flyte Deck Corporation, creating taxable income that he failed to report.

This CRA investigation was part of a joint force operation with the Redcliff detachment of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.

All case-specific information above was obtained from the court records.

Wilfully choosing not to follow Canada's tax laws can result in serious consequences. Under the income tax and excise tax laws, being convicted of tax evasion can include court-imposed fines ranging from 50% to 200% of the evaded tax and up to five years in jail. Being convicted of tax fraud under Section 380 of the Criminal Code carries a sentence of up to 14 years in jail.

In addition to the court-imposed fines and/or jail sentences, convicted taxpayers have to pay the full amount of tax owing, plus related interest and any penalties assessed by the CRA.

The CRA is dedicated to maintaining the integrity of Canada's tax system, thereby contributing to the social and economic well-being of Canadians. The CRA continues to aggressively pursue tax evasion, and false claims with all the tools available to it. The CRA works to make sure that individuals and businesses report all income earned and only claim benefits to which they are entitled, so that important benefit programs can be administered to those who need them. Any individual or business who underreports income, or claims losses or benefits to which they are not entitled may have to repay the benefit amounts and may be subject to other possible action.

The CRA has set up a free subscription service to help Canadians stay current on the CRA's enforcement efforts.

Associated links

Reporting suspected tax or benefit cheating in Canada  
Voluntary Disclosures Program

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SOURCE Canada Revenue Agency

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Canada Revenue Agency

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Government of Canada