Vernon fraudster under house arrest for fraud, convicted of more fraud

Vernon resident Dana Kirton had a bunch of fake IDs, a couple of forged cheques, three Airsoft rifles, multiple cell phones and a quantity of drugs that were at the “trafficking level” when he was stopped by Vernon RCMP last summer.

He was also under house arrest having been convicted for fraud in 2024 in scams that ripped off victims from the Lower Mainland to the Okanagan.

At the Vernon courthouse, Jan. 26, Kirton came to a “quid pro quo” with Crown prosecutors, netting him a jail sentence described as on the very lowest level.

Crown prosecutor James Bagan didn’t go into details, only saying there were some “potential Charter issues” over the RCMP’s search of his girlfriend’s truck, which had given rise to the plea deal.

The court heard that Kirton had been spotted by a Vernon police officer sitting in the passenger seat of Jasmin Nicole Elsom’s truck last June.

It was 3:30 a.m. and the officer knew Kirton was under a curfew, so they pulled the couple over.

Along with the drugs, two fake IDs containing Kirton’s photo and someone else’s name were uncovered. There were also forged cheques, blank debit cards and several other IDs.

“There is a level of sophistication here that has to be mentioned,” Judge Clarke Burnett said. “Mr Kirton took the time and effort to fabricate driving licences… this is not a spur of the moment offence.”

There was no dollar figure given as to how much Kirton had netted with the forged documents.

One victim had had their IDs stolen in a break-in, but there were no details given in court as to where most of the forged documents or stolen IDs came from. 

The court also didn’t hear how Kirton had managed to put his photo on a driving licence in someone else’s name or what he intended to do with it.

One victim was alerted that their identity had been stolen when a bank called them and said they’d taken out a $30,000 loan. The court was quick to hear that Kirton hadn’t been charged in relation to this.

The 35-year-old does, however, have a lengthy history of committing fraud.

In 2020, he was given a sentence of house arrest for fraud and a year later, another stint of house arrest for using a forged document.

When he was arrested in Vernon last year, he was serving a two-year sentence under house arrest for multiple counts of fraud.

In 2018, at the onset of the opioid crisis a judge handed down a two-year prison sentence calling him “reckless” for selling heroin, which he knew was often laced with fentanyl.

The court heard the 35-year-old, who is Metis, had left school in Grade 9 and had early exposure to substance use and intergenerational violence. He’s suffered from substance addiction for many years and has experienced homelessness. However, he was a journeyman concrete finisher and had a child.

He was now sober and enrolled in a substance abuse program in prison.

Appearing in court from custody, Kirton apologized for his actions and said he wanted to change his life.

“Since I’ve been incarcerated, I’ve really worked hard on changing my behaviours,” he told the court. “I never want to be back here again. I want to get my life under control, and that’s what I’m doing here. I apologize for wasting you guys’ time.”

It’s unclear why, with such a history of fraudulent behaviour, Kirton received sentences of house arrest on multiple occasions, and Judge Burnett said it was “very troubling” that he was on house arrest when he was caught this time.

The victim, whose identity had been stolen, had suffered stress and anxiety as a result.

“These are crimes that have significant effects on people. They undermine the victims, but then they also undermine the entire public’s confidence in the banking system,” the judge said.

Because of the potential Charter challenge from the vehicle search, Judge Burnett accepted a joint submission for six months of jail time after Kirton pleaded guilty to 10 charges, including forgery, personation with intent to gain advantage, and possessing a stolen credit card.

Elsom, who had also faced the same 10 charges, had them all stayed by Crown prosecutors.

Neither Elsom nor Kirton has been charged in relation to the drugs found in the vehicle.

Kirton’s six-month sentence will begin when he finishes his current jail sentence, which is set to end next month.