Paul Coffin is a Canadian businessman who pleaded guilty to 15 counts of fraud

Fraud

In criminal law, a fraud is an intentional deception made for personal gain or to damage another individual; the related adjective is fraudulent. The specific legal definition varies by legal jurisdiction. Fraud is a crime, and also a civil law violation...

 in connection with the sponsorship scandal

Sponsorship scandal

The sponsorship scandal, "AdScam", "Sponsorship" or Sponsorgate, is a scandal that came as a result of a Canadian federal government "sponsorship program" in the province of Quebec and involving the Liberal Party of Canada, which was in power from 1993 to 2006...

 involving the Liberal Party of Canada

Liberal Party of Canada

The Liberal Party of Canada , colloquially known as the Grits, is the oldest federally registered party in Canada. In the conventional political spectrum, the party sits between the centre and the centre-left. Historically the Liberal Party has positioned itself to the left of the Conservative...

 in May 2005. As head of Communication Coffin, an advertising agency based in Montreal

Montreal

Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...

, Quebec

Quebec

Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....

, Coffin was contracted by Public Works Canada to handle sponsorship deals on their behalf. The RCMP charged him with 18 counts of fraud for submitting fake invoices in relation to this work, which Coffin later admitted to during the Gomery Commission

Gomery Commission

The Gomery Commission, formally the Commission of Inquiry into the Sponsorship Program and Advertising Activities, was a federal Canadian Royal Commission headed by the retired Justice John Gomery for the purpose of investigating the sponsorship scandal, which involved allegations of corruption...

. As part of his plea bargain, Coffin admitted to defrauding the federal government of $1,556,625, of which more than $1 million was eventually repaid to the federal government. He initially received a conditional sentence of two years less a day to be served in the community, although the Quebec Court of Appeal

Quebec Court of Appeal

The Court of Appeal for Quebec is the highest judicial court in Quebec, Canada....

 overturned this, and sentenced him to 18 months in jail.

According to Elections Canada

Elections Canada

Elections Canada is an independent, non-partisan agency reporting directly to the Parliament of Canada. Its ongoing responsibility is to ensure that Canadians can exercise their choices in federal elections and referenda through an open and impartial process...

, between 1999 and 2001 Coffin donated a total of $24,000 to the Liberal Party of Canada, the governing party of Canada at the time.

Along with Jean Brault and Charles Guité

Charles Guité

J. Charles Guité , raised in Campbellton, New Brunswick, is a former Canadian civil servant who was in charge of the federal sponsorship program from 1996 to 1999....

, Coffin is one of only a few people who were ultimately charged in connection with the sponsorship scandal.