The jury for the second-degree murder trial of Dennis Oland hearing from a senior forensic accountant who says that from the beginning of 2011 up to July 7 of that year Dennis’ spending exceeded his income from CIBC Wood Gundy, where he worked as an investment advisor, by more than $86,848 and the limits on both his line of credit and his Visa had been extended that year.
Senior forensic accountant Eric Johnson testifying that Dennis Oland’s income for that time frame was $34,124 while his spending, on the other hand, was $120,972.
The trial has heard a line of credit with a limit of $75,000 was renegotiated to $163,000 in March of 2011. Johnson says on May 9, 2011 the balance was $161,074 and the account remained near its $163,000 limit up until July 7, 2011 — the day Dennis’ father, Richard Oland, was found dead in his investment firm office on Canterbury Street in uptown Saint John. A witness earlier testified that as of July 6, 2011 the combined total of Richard Oland’s companies was about $36-million.
The trial earlier heard that Dennis Oland was granted an advance of $8000 monthly for the months of June and July of 2011 from CIBC Wood Gundy for a total of $16,000.
Branch manager of CIBC Wood Gundy John Travis read emails between himself and Dennis aloud in the courtroom. In an email dated July 1, 2011 Dennis Oland tells Travis “it does look like I’m going to struggle with cash for the next few months and as a result wanted to revist your offer to assist me to get through this crunch,” the email continues, “summer is usually slower for me so I’m a bit concerned.” Dennis then tells him that help for June and July would be all that would be required. The offer Dennis Oland refers to was made around May of that year by Travis. Travis confirms that he had looked at Dennis’ numbers and talked to the assistant manager to help Dennis get through lean times.
Travis reading another email exchange, this one from July 14, 2011 in which Dennis Oland tells Travis that his pay came in at $4000 when it should be $8000. On June 15 Dennis tells Travis that he is becoming nervous that the issue won’t be resolved that day, citing support and loan payments are due.
The trial has heard that Dennis Oland was making monthly interest-only payments of $1666. 67 to his father on a $500,000 loan. The prosecution has stated that by the end of June 2011/early July 2011, neither the May 2011 or the June 2011 payment had been made. A cheque that he wrote for one of those payments was sent back due to insufficient funds on July 5, 2011.
The trial resumes on Friday at the Saint John Law Courts at 9:30am. It’s expected that senior forensic accountant Eric Johnson will be back on the witness stand continuing his testimony.
CHSJ News reporter Laura Lyall is covering the Dennis Oland trial and is live-tweeting from the courtroom. You can follow along by going to the CHSJ News Twitter page or the Wave News Twitter page.
