Full parole meeting scheduled for B.C. man who defrauded Indigenous youth

Robert Riley Saunders parole request will go to full hearing.

Robert Riley Saunders was a social worker with the Ministry of Children and Family Development. Facebook.

APTN News: Robert Riley Saunders, who stole more than $460,000 from the British Columbia Ministry of Children and Family Services by lying about his credentials and defrauding vulnerable Indigenous youth is scheduled for a full parole hearing later this year.

Correctional Services Canada, or CSC, has recommended full parole but the Parole Board of Canada, who oversees the parole process reviewed his progress on April 8, 2024 and opted to have a full hearing to determine his eligibility.

“While there is positive progress noted, several issues are concerning to the board,” the parole board wrote in a decision.

“The extent of your fraudulent activity spans over two decades, occurred in several different aspects of your life, and you exploited the most vulnerable population through your position of trust to commit the index offence.”

According to parole documents, Saunders used his position of authority to take money from difficult to house Indigenous youth over six and a half years between 2011 and 2018 as a caseworker for the Ministry of Children and Family Development.

“During this period, you opened joint bank accounts with your high-risk clients, and transferred funds intended to provide shelter and support to these clients into your own accounts; none of these funds were provided to these youth,” say the documents.

The 54-year-old is serving a five-year sentence for fraud over $5,000 and breach of trust by a public officer, among other charges.

The board decided the full hearing would help clarify the effect of counselling since he went to prison and that they needed more time to determine his risk of reoffending.

Saunders has been out on day parole since Oct. 16, 2023. Day parole allows inmates out during the day but requires that they return to their prison or halfway house in the evening.

“You have not demonstrated any problematic behaviour in the community on day parole, nor is there any indication that you have returned to your crime cycle and, as a consequence, your day parole-other will be extended until you can be seen by the Board for a full parole hearing,” the decision reads.

During his sentencing, the BC Supreme Court Justice Steven Wilson said that Saunders’ was motivated purely by self-interest.

“The sole motivating factor behind Mr. Saunders’s fraud was greed. He was able to enjoy a lavish lifestyle that he could not afford, solely as a result of the fraud,” wrote Wilson.

Several conditions remain in place such as a no-contact order for his victims and a lifetime order that prohibits authority over the property of others.