Alberta man faked his abduction over losing father-in-law’s $2M investment

LETHBRIDGE, Alta. – A southern Alberta man who faked his own kidnapping has been given a conditional discharge.

Last month, 25-year-old Mathew Robillard of Lethbridge pleaded guilty to a charge of mischief.

Robillard was reported missing on his way to work in January.

He turned up in Calgary two days later and eventually told police he cut and burned himself to make it look like he was kidnapped.

He lost $2 million his father-in-law asked him to invest and he cooked up the kidnapping scheme to try to account for the lost money.

He was placed on probation for 14 months, and his lawyer David Cavilla (cuh-VILL-uh) says Robillard will also have to complete 100 hours of community service work.

“This is a young man who simply panicked and made a bad decision as all of us can do at any given time,” Cavilla said.

(CJOC)