Claims Adjuster Used Stolen Funds To Support Gambling Addiction

A former ICBC insurance adjuster who defrauded the Crown corporation of over $420,000 to pay for a gambling addiction has been sentenced to two years in jail.

Paul Martin Punter, 31, was handed the sentence in North Vancouver provincial court Dec. 23 after pleading guilty to a charge of theft over $5,000. According to an agreed statement of facts read by Crown counsel Peter Campbell, Punter was hired by ICBC as a claims adjuster in January 2017.

Over two years between Aug. 14, 2017 and July 28, 2019, Punter fraudulently issued 156 cheques on active claims to reimburse expenses that did not exist, said Campbell.

Using a cellphone app, Punter then deposited those cheques into his own TD Canada Trust bank account.

When Punter applied for a mortgage with TD in August 2019, a bank employee noticed numerous third-party cheques had been deposited digitally into his account, said Campbell.