The sentence for former advertising executive Jean Lafleur, who pleaded guilty to 28 charges in connection with the federal sponsorship scandal, is being decided at a Montreal courthouse on Friday.
The prosecution wants Lafleur to serve nearly five years in prison for defrauding Canadian taxpayers of nearly $1.6 million. Lawyers also want him to pay the money back.
Crown prosecutor Ann-Mary Beauchemin said Lafleur "had to assume a high degree of culpability" for his role in the fraud.
Lafleur is the fifth person to be charged in the sponsorship affair. Others found guilty in the scandal, like John Brault, have been sentenced to less than three years.
The Crown said they want a stiffer penalty for Lafleur because his involvement was more severe. They allege he masterminded ways to milk the government out of money for work that he never did.
Lafleur originally faced 35 fraud charges. Prosecutors dropped seven counts that involved about $10,000.
His company made some $65 million from government business from 1995 to 2003. During that time, he and several family members collected nearly $12 million in salaries and bonuses.
Quebec provincial police officer Benoit Pinet testified that Lafleur overbilled for contracts to promote events involving, among other things, the Bluenose II schooner and the RCMP's 125th anniversary celebrations.
"The work that was billed was never done," Pinet testified, while explaining one particular contract. "That's why for us the billing was fraudulent."
In the case of the RCMP celebrations, Pinet said Lafleur overbilled some $109,000.
Lafleur is best known as the ad man who got rich off the sponsorship program and who could remember little about how it happened when he testified at Justice John Gomery's inquiry.
The report on the scandal found the executive had contacts in the federal Liberal party that "contributed to what may be described as a financial bonanza for Jean Lafleur and his family."
The 66-year-old surrendered to police earlier this month upon returning to Montreal from Belize. Lafleur had not been seen in Canada since 2005.
The Crown is expected to use Lafleur's high-end lifestyle during his time Central America as proof of his ability to repay $1.5 million.
While Lafleur's lawyer, Jean-Claude Hebert, took no issue with the amount, he intends to object to having details of his client's private life revealed in court.
With a report from CTV Montreal's Rob Lurie and files from The Canadian Press
