Rodney Bradford Johnston has been jailed for two years after pleading guilty to stealing tens of thousands of dollars over the course of two years from an elderly RV park manager and another person in Nanaimo.
Johnston, 48 and a married father of two, was ordered to pay $80,352 to Richard Provost — the 83-year-old manager of Resort on the Lake RV park on Westwood Lake — and to pay $7,040 to Maximilian Seelenmayer and avoid all contact with the pair, as well as Shirley Collins.
Johnston was Collins’ neighbour in the Nanaimo RV park and befriended her in October 2012.
She introduced Johnston to her brother, Seelenmayer.
Johnston told Seelenmayer he could obtain electronic items at bargain prices, to be resold at a huge markup.
Seelenmayer checked off what he would like to buy from a list of items that included TVs, iPads, cellphones, laptops and computers and paid Johnston $5,240.
Johnston gave him a receipt, before continuing his scam to “sell” Seelenmayer a Honda ATV and electric pallet jack.
The total came to $7,040 and none of the items were ever supplied.
Johnston, meanwhile, befriended Provost and persuaded him he could acquire golf carts for $700 each that could easily be resold for $2,000 apiece. Provost gave Johnston $35,000 to acquire carts and also helped Johnston with living expenses.
Over the course of two years, Johnston conned Provost into paying for vending machines, TVs, outboard motors, lawn mowers, a motor home and a fifth-wheeler, all supposedly bought at auction.
No item was ever delivered.
After further advancing Johnston money to buy campers and farming equipment for resale, Provost reported the fraud to the RCMP in June 2014. The police found no evidence Johnston made a single purchase for either Provost or Seelenmayer.
In noting the impact of Johnston’s fraud spree, Nanaimo provincial court Judge Brian Harvey said the consequences had been devastating and traumatizing to both men.
As well, Provost’s dream of retiring in comfort had been ruined by Johnston, Harvey said.
Further, during the time he was ripping off the two men, the accused was serving a conditional sentence of house arrest for an identical crime.
“Notwithstanding all of the mitigating factors I’ve outlined in this case, I find that the moral culpability of Mr. Johnston to be very high,” the judge wrote.
“There is absolutely no question that he knew what he was doing and had every opportunity to stop and not cause his victims further financial loss.”
