Brenda Martin
Encyclopedia
Brenda Kim Martin, also known as Brenda Bletcher, as she was known to her childhood friends, is a Canadian
citizen from Trenton, Ontario
, whose arrest and conviction in Mexico
was subject of much publicity in Canada. Martin began living in Mexico in 1998, working in the culinary industry, allegedly without a visa. In 2006, she was arrested on fraud charges related to a former employer, Alyn Waage. She remained in custody awaiting disposition of her case for two years. The trial and subsequent decision were pushed forward by intervention of the Canadian government and public. Throughout the proceedings, she maintained that she was innocent of the charges and was not implicated by the ring leader, Alyn Waage, who is incarcerated for the fraud in the USA.
She was found guilty based on evidence suggesting she knowingly accepted illicit funds from her former boss, Alyn Waage, with whom she had a close relationship. She was sentenced to five years in jail without parole and received a fine. After being transferred to Canada, she was granted full parole.
pyramid scheme
, the "Tri-West Investment Club", which defrauded 15,000 victims of more than US$60 million. Following a joint investigation by US, Canadian, and Costa Rica
n police, he was arrested and charged with fraud in 2006. After fleeing Mexico while on bail, he was re-arrested in Costa Rica and is now serving a 10-year sentence in the United States
. Co-conspirators Keith Nordick and Michael Webb were also convicted of related offences.
The PGR (Mexican Federal District Attorney office) believed Martin had participated in the fraud and arrested her in 2006. Martin claims she never realized there was something wrong going on. Waage gave sworn evidence that she was unaware of his illegal activities and stated that the Mexican authorities held her to maintain leverage over him. In his sworn affidavit he did admit that Martin had worked for him for five months but never stated he had given her a year's severance for being fired. He explained the money sent as a return of her fiancé's investment in his scheme, since as a Mexican resident he could not invest.
Because Martin faced federal charges considered serious felonies in Mexico, and because she was a foreigner, Mexican law prevented her release on bail
. As a result, she remained in custody while awaiting trial.
Martin's lawyer, Mr. Guillermo Cruz Rico, attempted a constitutional challenge against the prosecution, claiming lack of assistance by an official interpreter when Brenda Martin was charged and deficiency in the evidence against her. According to Mexican officials, this had the effect of delaying a verdict; but this allegation did not have basis either in the Amparo Law or the jurisprudence produced by the Supreme Court of Mexico.
On April 14, 2008 Martin faced her final hearing before Judge Nuñez from the 7th federal district in the Puente Grande prison complex and court house. It was a summary hearing in which more than 26,000-page Waage file was presented. Mexican law states that a judge must deliver a sentence within 10 working days of the last hearing if the file is 500 pages or less. For files 501 pages or more, each 100 pages adds one working day up to a total of 30 days. Brenda Martin asked the judge to deliver her sentence in four days (by April 18). Judge Nuñez answered that he was not obligated by law to meet her demands, but would do his best to deliver his verdict as soon as possible.
s (approximately CAD
3,441). In his decision, Judge Nuñez ruled that Martin did know that the money she received from Allan Waage came from the proceeds of an internet scam and were therefore illicit funds.
in Kitchener
, Ontario
, she was immediately eligible for parole as she had already served more than one third of her sentence in Mexico. On May 9, 2008, Ms. Martin was released on parole from the Canadian prison into her mother's custody.
called for a boycott of Mexico in response to her treatment.
Despite the predominantly partial media coverage of Martin's plight and sympathy from several high-ranking politicians, her story received much attention from the general Canadian public and other countries as well, including prestigious publications such as The Economist
.
about twenty years ago. Martin was arrested again in early January 2010.
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
citizen from Trenton, Ontario
Trenton, Ontario
Trenton is a community in Southern Ontario in the municipality of Quinte West, Ontario, Canada. Located on the Bay of Quinte, it is the main population centre in Quinte West....
, whose arrest and conviction in Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
was subject of much publicity in Canada. Martin began living in Mexico in 1998, working in the culinary industry, allegedly without a visa. In 2006, she was arrested on fraud charges related to a former employer, Alyn Waage. She remained in custody awaiting disposition of her case for two years. The trial and subsequent decision were pushed forward by intervention of the Canadian government and public. Throughout the proceedings, she maintained that she was innocent of the charges and was not implicated by the ring leader, Alyn Waage, who is incarcerated for the fraud in the USA.
She was found guilty based on evidence suggesting she knowingly accepted illicit funds from her former boss, Alyn Waage, with whom she had a close relationship. She was sentenced to five years in jail without parole and received a fine. After being transferred to Canada, she was granted full parole.
Arrest
While Martin was employed by Waage, he was running an internet fraudInternet fraud
Internet fraud refers to the use of Internet services to present fraudulent solicitations to prospective victims, to conduct fraudulent transactions, or to transmit the proceeds of fraud to financial institutions or to others connected with the scheme....
pyramid scheme
Pyramid scheme
A pyramid scheme is a non-sustainable business model that involves promising participants payment or services, primarily for enrolling other people into the scheme, rather than supplying any real investment or sale of products or services to the public...
, the "Tri-West Investment Club", which defrauded 15,000 victims of more than US$60 million. Following a joint investigation by US, Canadian, and Costa Rica
Costa Rica
Costa Rica , officially the Republic of Costa Rica is a multilingual, multiethnic and multicultural country in Central America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, Panama to the southeast, the Pacific Ocean to the west and the Caribbean Sea to the east....
n police, he was arrested and charged with fraud in 2006. After fleeing Mexico while on bail, he was re-arrested in Costa Rica and is now serving a 10-year sentence in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. Co-conspirators Keith Nordick and Michael Webb were also convicted of related offences.
The PGR (Mexican Federal District Attorney office) believed Martin had participated in the fraud and arrested her in 2006. Martin claims she never realized there was something wrong going on. Waage gave sworn evidence that she was unaware of his illegal activities and stated that the Mexican authorities held her to maintain leverage over him. In his sworn affidavit he did admit that Martin had worked for him for five months but never stated he had given her a year's severance for being fired. He explained the money sent as a return of her fiancé's investment in his scheme, since as a Mexican resident he could not invest.
Because Martin faced federal charges considered serious felonies in Mexico, and because she was a foreigner, Mexican law prevented her release on bail
Bail
Traditionally, bail is some form of property deposited or pledged to a court to persuade it to release a suspect from jail, on the understanding that the suspect will return for trial or forfeit the bail...
. As a result, she remained in custody while awaiting trial.
Trial and conviction
Trials in Mexico are conducted in a written rather than oral format, which can make them proceed slower than trials in Martin's native Canada. In addition, all the paperwork had to be translated by a certified translator for Brenda to be conscious of her process. Largely because of her long wait in prison, Martin experienced emotional stress and was the focus of a great deal of media attention in Canada.Martin's lawyer, Mr. Guillermo Cruz Rico, attempted a constitutional challenge against the prosecution, claiming lack of assistance by an official interpreter when Brenda Martin was charged and deficiency in the evidence against her. According to Mexican officials, this had the effect of delaying a verdict; but this allegation did not have basis either in the Amparo Law or the jurisprudence produced by the Supreme Court of Mexico.
On April 14, 2008 Martin faced her final hearing before Judge Nuñez from the 7th federal district in the Puente Grande prison complex and court house. It was a summary hearing in which more than 26,000-page Waage file was presented. Mexican law states that a judge must deliver a sentence within 10 working days of the last hearing if the file is 500 pages or less. For files 501 pages or more, each 100 pages adds one working day up to a total of 30 days. Brenda Martin asked the judge to deliver her sentence in four days (by April 18). Judge Nuñez answered that he was not obligated by law to meet her demands, but would do his best to deliver his verdict as soon as possible.
Conviction
On April 22, Judge Nuñez announced that Martin was guilty. Martin was sentenced to a minimum of five years with no chance of parole, and was fined 35,850 pesoPeso
The word peso was the name of a coin that originated in Spain and became of immense importance internationally...
s (approximately CAD
Canadian dollar
The Canadian dollar is the currency of Canada. As of 2007, the Canadian dollar is the 7th most traded currency in the world. It is abbreviated with the dollar sign $, or C$ to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies...
3,441). In his decision, Judge Nuñez ruled that Martin did know that the money she received from Allan Waage came from the proceeds of an internet scam and were therefore illicit funds.
Transfer from Mexico
Martin applied for a prisoner transfer to serve out her time in Canada. On May 1, 2008, Martin was transferred in a government-chartered jet from the Mexican prison she was held in, back to Canada. The flight cost Canadian taxpayers $82,727. Additionally, in order to expedite the transfer, the Canadian government paid the C$3,441 fine (35,850 pesos) imposed by the judge that presided over her case. MP Jason Kenney was quoted saying the fine was paid through a special fund the Foreign Affairs Department has for distressed Canadians abroad. Though initially she was remanded into custody at the Grand Valley Institution for WomenGrand Valley Institution for Women
Grand Valley Institution for Women is in a women's federal prison in Kitchener, Ontario, served by the Government of Canada.In Canada, women sentenced to prison terms of greater than two years serve their time in a federal institution operated by the Correctional Service of Canada...
in Kitchener
Kitchener, Ontario
The City of Kitchener is a city in Southern Ontario, Canada. It was the Town of Berlin from 1854 until 1912 and the City of Berlin from 1912 until 1916. The city had a population of 204,668 in the Canada 2006 Census...
, Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
, she was immediately eligible for parole as she had already served more than one third of her sentence in Mexico. On May 9, 2008, Ms. Martin was released on parole from the Canadian prison into her mother's custody.
Public response
Canadian MP Bill CaseyBill Casey
William D. "Bill" Casey is a Canadian politician. He is a former Member of Parliament in the Canadian House of Commons.-Life and career:...
called for a boycott of Mexico in response to her treatment.
Despite the predominantly partial media coverage of Martin's plight and sympathy from several high-ranking politicians, her story received much attention from the general Canadian public and other countries as well, including prestigious publications such as The Economist
The Economist
The Economist is an English-language weekly news and international affairs publication owned by The Economist Newspaper Ltd. and edited in offices in the City of Westminster, London, England. Continuous publication began under founder James Wilson in September 1843...
.
Other legal troubles
Martin was convicted of drunk drivingDriving under the influence
Driving under the influence is the act of driving a motor vehicle with blood levels of alcohol in excess of a legal limit...
about twenty years ago. Martin was arrested again in early January 2010.