While working at a vaccination centre at the Olympic Stadium, Adams Diwa created false records of vaccinations for 630 people.
A man who created fake records of vaccinations that were turned into COVID-19 passports while he worked for a regional health centre in eastern Montreal was sentenced Monday to a two-year prison term at the Montreal courthouse.
Adams Diwa, 25, was handcuffed and taken into custody after Quebec Court Judge Pierre Dupras said he agreed with the joint recommendation made on the sentence by prosecutor François Boillat-Madfouny and defence lawyer Laurence Ledoux.
Diwa was sentenced to a prison term of two years less a day, which means he will serve the sentence in a provincial detention centre and be eligible for parole after he serves one-sixth of his sentence as opposed to one-third, if he was sent to a federal penitentiary.
On May 2, Diwa pleaded guilty to one count of breach of trust and another of fabricating false documents.
In 2021, he was working for the Centre intégré universitaire de santé et de services sociaux (CIUSSS) de l’Est-de-l’Île-de-Montréal when he used the access linked to his position to produce fake records of vaccinations used for the passports issued by the Quebec government. The passports allowed people in Quebec to access several places where people could gather in large numbers, for example a movie theatre.
When Diwa’s home was searched by the Permanent Anti-Corruption Unit (UPAC), investigators found a large sum of money.
When he pleaded guilty in May, Diwa admitted he pocketed nearly $150,000 while he worked at a vaccination centre at the Olympic Stadium. He created 1,250 fake records of vaccines for 630 people.
“The sentence takes into account many factors,” the prosecutor told Dupras, adding that Diwa worked as an administrative agent for the CIUSSS while he carried out his crimes. “And he made nearly $150,000 in money.”
He also said that while Diwa was not charged with fraud, “it resembled the context” of a fraud case and noted how people who pocketed more than $150,000 previously received sentences that varied between 18 months and six years.
While listing the mitigating factors in Diwa’s case, the prosecutor noted that he collaborated during the investigation and gave a statement to the police, and the probation officer who prepared Diwa’s pre-sentencing report assessed him as a low risk of reoffending.
While going over the aggravating factors, Boillat-Madfouny noted how the “state gave Mr. Diwa a position of responsibility” to register records of vaccinations.
“I don’t know if you remember it, but we were in the middle of a crisis with a curfew (imposed by the CAQ government). (Vaccinations) were the only solution and Mr. Diwa placed in peril the task of the state,” the prosecutor said. “He profited from the trust placed in him.
“It is in this context that it is undeniable that a prison term has to be imposed to send a clear and simple message to denounce his actions.”