Jig is up: ‘poor decisions’ lead to man’s house arrest in charity ice-fish fraud

A Ste. Anne man has been sentenced to 18 months house arrest after admitting to pocketing the proceeds from an ice-fishing fundraiser for sick children.

Christian Thomas Gord Lillyman, 41, entered a guilty plea last year to one count of fraud over $5,000.

Lillyman and his common-law partner, Heather Neuert, were arrested on fraud- and theft-related charges in December 2022 after not one penny of the $13,029 raised from a March 2021 fishing derby he organized was forwarded to the event’s designated charity, the Children’s Hospital Foundation of Manitoba.

Charges against Neuert were stayed after Lillyman entered his guilty plea last year.

“The Crown is prepared to accept (Lillyman) was solely responsible,” Crown attorney Colin Soul told provincial court Judge Dale Schille at a sentencing hearing Thursday. “He was the face of this fundraising drive.”

According to an arrest summary provided to court, Lillyman contacted the Children’s Hospital Foundation of Manitoba in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic in January 2021 with the idea of holding a virtual fishing derby, with net proceeds going to the foundation.

“Lillyman … prodigiously promoted the CHFM fundraiser on various social-media platforms, informing that the net proceeds would be going to (the foundation),” ultimately attracting 492 registrants.

The Full Tilt Winter Walleye Tournament ran over the course of two weeks, raised more than $22,000, with $9,000 paid out in prizes.

Over the next six months, foundation representatives repeatedly reached out to Lillyman to collect the funds it was owed, but received no reply.

“This breach of trust caused a sense of sadness, anger and significant worry for our staff members,” said foundation president and CEO Stefano Grande in a victim-impact statement provided to court.

“The foundation relies heavily on the strength of our trusted brand to attract donors and supporters, and we all take their trust very seriously,” Grande said. “My staff felt betrayed and continue to worry about the impact on future fundraising from the lack of public confidence in third-party donor events and the potential loss of the positive image of our foundation’s brand.”

Lillyman, at the time a self-employed painter, organized the fundraiser with “good intentions,” but with work orders drying up due to the pandemic and mounting bills to pay, he made a bad choice, defence lawyer Ed Murphy told court.

“Bills would be due, and he would borrow from (the fish derby) fund, thinking with the later (work) contracts he could put the money back,” Murphy said. “Of course, it turned out to be a house of cards, and it all falls down.”

Court heard Lillyman has only recently secured stable employment and since February has repaid the foundation $3,000.

“I absolutely regret the poor decisions I made,” Lillyman told court. “It was such a fantastic idea that I had and such a poor execution … I’d like to pay the money off and make this right.”

Schille agreed to allow Lillyman to serve his sentence in the community so he can continue to pay regular restitution, warning him if he doesn’t, he could be ordered to serve the remainder of his sentence in jail.

“If you don’t make the payments, you will be back here to see me,” Schille said.

A justice source confirmed earlier this spring that Lillyman and Neuert were the two people rescued by RCMP after being stranded on Lake Winnipeg on March 31. Their SUV had fallen through the ice.

dean.pritchard@freepress.mb.ca