Our client had purchased a small amount of marijuana for personal use and had been given a number of used “pre-paid credit cards” from friends from Northern Canada. On the day in question, our client failed to properly stop at a stop-sign and was pulled over. When the officer observed the bag of marijuana, she searched our client’s vehicle and found the credit cards. The parent-company of the bank that issued the credit cards consulted their forensic investigator, who erroneously confirmed that the credit card numbers were invalid and that the cards must be forged.
Our client was charged with possession of marijuana and possession of forged credit cards. The raw records from the bank were not provided to defence counsel. Accordingly, defence counsel hired a private investigator to interview our client’s friends, confirming that the cards were real and had been given to him. On that basis, defence counsel called and interviewed the bank’s forensic investigator, causing the investigator to re-do his investigation and discover his error.
RESULT: The charge of possessing forged credit cards was withdrawn against our client on the morning of the trial. Our client also pled guilty to possession of marijuana and received an absolute discharge, which does not result in a criminal record.