After numerous delays, a Sudbury business owner charged with 35 counts of fraud took to the witness stand this week.
David Murray, the owner of Ecolife Home Improvement, has testified for two days, July 5 and July 8, and will continue July 11. Sudbury.com will have the full story of his testimony then.
The charges against Murray date back to May 7, 2016, and continue through March 28, 2019. The case has suffered a number of setbacks, including three different defense attorneys and significant delays due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Police say the total of the alleged frauds is estimated at $800,000.
You can find Sudbury.com’s full timeline of the case here.
The trial resumed June 20 after a hiatus that began March 8, 2021, with testimony from Det. Andrew Williams of Greater Sudbury Police, who spoke of financial records he obtained in his pursuit of criminal charges against Murray, and the closing of the Crown’s case.
Murray now has his chance to testify. His lawyer, Toronto-based Stefan Peters, (Murray’s fourth attorney since the case began), took him through each and every testimony from clients who accuse him of defrauding them over work to their homes that they say was unfinished, or never started.
As well, his former customers accuse Murray of ceasing communication entirely, requiring them, in their minds, to take the matter to court.
Toronto Crown prosecutor, Patrick Travers, from the province’s Serious Fraud Office, appeared virtually, as did Peters, while David Murray testified in the courtroom before Ontario Court Justice Louise Serré.
For the majority of his testimony thus far, Murray has blamed the abrupt end to the provincial GreenOn program, a provincial grant opportunity for homeowners to upgrade their windows to more environmentally sound versions.
Murray testified the program ended so abruptly he was unable to complete the contracts he took on. He also pointed to delays caused by requirement to train staff and the requirement only specific products could be used on the jobs.
He said there were also material shortages due to the number of contractors trying to get their work done before the deadline, but Murray testified these issues were doubled by the clients continuing to call him “screaming” and “attacking his staff” verbally.
The clients that have accused him said in previous testimony there was other work he did not complete, including siding and even the building of a garage, and that they could not reach him to find out why. Even when they did, they said, he would not show up.
Murray will continue his testimony on July 11, when Peters will take him through another set of complaints.
Jenny Lamothe covers court for Sudbury.com