Lloyd Carr may be getting out of prison, but the convicted con man must obey a handful of court-ordered restrictions.
Carr, 50, once a bogus mental-health counsellor in Flin Flon, will receive supervised release in December, a privilege afforded to most offenders who have served two-thirds of their sentence.
As part of his release, Carr, who has said he had a gambling problem, must not gamble or visit a gambling establishment. He must also follow psychological counselling, receive approval from his parole supervisor before accepting a job or paid training, and provide full financial disclosure.
The Parole Board of Canada, which set the restrictions, told Carr at an Oct. 10 hearing that he is considered a low risk to reoffend and has high reintegration potential.
“Although there have been no specific mental health concerns identified in your case, it is noted that you have continued to work with the community and institutional psychological service to address personal and emotional concerns,” the board told Carr. “You have positive community support available to you.”
The board called its restrictions “reasonable and necessary to protect society” and a requirement in assisting with Carr’s “reintegration as a law-abiding citizen.”
Carr has been in custody at an undisclosed minimum-security facility. Though the conditions of his release were set Oct. 10, his release will not be until December.
His hearing came 15 months after a parole board determined that releasing him on even a partial basis represented an “unmanageable” risk.
But like most offenders, Carr is entitled to supervised release – also known as statutory release – after serving two-thirds of his prison time. This form of release is meant to allow for a period of control and supervision in the offender’s community before his or her sentence ends.
Carr has served two sentences: one for embezzling money from the Alberta government and the other for defrauding the now-defunct NOR-MAN Regional Health Authority (NRHA).
He did not have the required social work degree when the NRHA hired him in 2008 to work as a Flin Flon-based mental-health clinician. His job involved counselling vulnerable children.
Carr had in fact produced a fake degree. He also hid his criminal record and the fact that he had been charged for defrauding the Alberta government of somewhere between $481,000 and $634,000 in the mid-2000s.
In April 2010, Carr was sentenced to three and a half years in custody for his Alberta crimes. While on parole in May 2011, he got another two and a half years for defrauding the NRHA.
The NRHA charges stemmed not only from his falsifying credentials, but also from his false claim to have bowel cancer, a lie that garnered him paid sick leave.
Carr was back on parole on Oct. 2, 2011 on conditions that included a requirement to undergo counselling. He spent part of his time at a community residential facility in a location that was not made public.
In August 2012, Carr had his parole revoked after yet another web of make-believe came unraveled. In handing down its ruling, a parole board said Carr faked job training, sold his used laptop as company-direct and falsely claimed churchgoers were helping him with a gambling problem.
Prior to his April 2010 sentencing in Alberta, Carr listed Swan River, not Flin Flon, as his primary address, though he did have an apartment in the latter community.
The community in which Carr will live upon his release has not been made public.
