Story:
A Garden Bay man convicted of wire fraud, mail fraud and theft in connection with a multi-million dollar heist of United States government property, will face 54 months in prison.
Bradley Garner, who lives in the U.S. but is a Canadian citizen and owns a vacation property in Garden Bay, was convicted in July 2009 and received his sentence last month. The U.S. Attorney's Office Western District of Washington charged that Garner and his half-brother Steven Bradley Smith exploited a government computer system when Smith worked for the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). Smith allegedly made changes to the database of U.S. surplus equipment including planes, trucks, boats and computers and claimed them for the FAA even though he did not have clearance to do so. Garner and Smith then allegedly collected the materials for storage, including an 8.5-metre Boston Whaler and a 14-metre sailboat, which Garner moved to the Sunshine Coast.
Sunshine Coast RCMP assisted with recovering the two stolen boats, which were property of the U.S. Navy after liaising with the Navy Criminal Investigation Service in December 2008. The Boston Whaler was found on Garner's property and the sailboat was found at the government dock in Porpoise Bay.
Smith is set to face trial later this year.
