Ex-Harper Aide Convicted of More Fraud Charges Than Previously Known

Bruce Carson was found guilty of fraud on five – not three – separate charges, and underwent court-ordered psychiatric treatment.

Did this guy not raise any red flags in the PMO? Carson is at the centre of a lobbying scandal for allegedly attempting to influence the government soon after leaving his position as the prime minister’s aide, and fresh revelations about his criminal past are leading some to question Stephen Harper’s judgment. While it was previously known that Carson, a former lawyer, was disbarred and convicted of two counts of fraud in the 1980s, The Canadian Press has learned he also defrauded two banks and a rental car company in 1990. His sentence was suspended on the condition that he undergo psychiatric treatment. Carson worked as Harper’s chief of staff until 2008 and would have had access to confidential information.