Convicted fraudster Todd Guthrie has been sentenced to 15 months in jail for defrauding 18 Simcoe County victims out of tens of thousands of dollars in non-existent hockey and concert tickets.
“This is about the most Canadian thing I can think of,” Ontario Court Justice Angela McLeod said Tuesday in passing sentence in a Collingwood courtroom.
“Money comes and goes, (but) this is exploitation of Canadian culture … you weren’t defrauding people of a basket of apples,” McLeod added, saying victims being deprived of such sentimental gifts is especially cruel because of both the monetary loss and the emotional letdown.
Crown attorney Lee Sela also spoke to the utter lack of regard Guthrie showed his unsuspecting victims.
Guthrie showed "no regard and, I would submit, no empathy to the victims,” said Sela.
Guthrie, 45, of Collingwood, has been in custody since mid-January for violating his release conditions. He looked on from the prisoner’s dock having noticeably lost weight.
He was wearing a Guelph Storm hoodie and his jeans hung off his slender frame. Guthrie appeared to keeping his hands in his pockets to prevent his jeans from falling down to his prison-issued slip-on shoes when he was asked to stand or move.
Court heard details of a bold fraud where Guthrie connected with victims through a mixture of personal relationships, as well as internet and social-media postings, mostly for tickets to the NHL All-Star Game that took place in Toronto in early 2024. Toronto Maple Leafs tickets were also cited in the evidence presented during Tuesday’s sentence hearing.
Though not mentioned on Tuesday, victims also told BarrieToday that they had sent Guthrie money for concert tickets.
Guthrie pleaded guilty to one count of fraud over $5,000 relating to almost $30,000. In reality,. BarrieToday has confirmed that the total amount stolen from victims was at least double, and likely more.
Guthrie would take payment by electronic transfer and then string along his victims. One such victim provided BarrieToday with text messages where Guthrie would use excuses such as being stuck in traffic, getting into a minor fender bender or that he was waiting for a supplier who was on vacation, to explain non-delivery.
“It’s not enough,” one victim, who did not want to provide her name,said of Guthrie’s 15-month sentence. The woman said she is out more than $6,000 for NHL All-Star Game tickets that were never delivered.
Court also heard evidence that Guthrie’s ticket-fraud conviction was not his first time before the courts. He had previously been convicted of fraud under and fraud over $5,000 a decade ago. He served six months on those convictions.
When credited for time spent in pre-sentence custody, Guthrie has two weeks shy of a year left to serve. He will then be placed on probation that includes conditions to seek treatment for his gambling addiction and is subject to a restitution order of about $30,000.
Speaking in a halting voice, Guthrie apologized “to my family, the victims and the court.”
One victim confirmed that Guthrie "came from a normal, respectable family" and that she had some sympathy for what they were also going through.
In closing remarks that were a mix of warning others and imploring Guthrie to make amends for the damage he has done, McLeod’s comments were especially relevant.
“Words are words and your word doesn’t mean anything,” she told Guthrie before turning her attention to his victims.
“If it sounds too good to be true, it likely is coming (from) someone like Todd Guthrie,” McLeod warned of doing murky deals over the internet..
With the hour-long proceedings done, the judge wished Guthrie good luck and he was taken into custody by a police officer.
He never looked up to two victims who were in the body of the court.