A Charlottetown roofer who falsely claimed his building materials were stolen was sentenced Wednesday to 90 days in jail.

His postings about the incident on social media turned up just one tip — that he never purchased the materials in the first place, according to Crown prosecutor Lisa Goulden.

Shane David Smith, 41, was convicted of fraud and falsely reporting a crime, following a three-day trial last month.

"Fifty thousand people viewed the complaint on social media," said Goulden, at Smith's sentencing hearing in provincial court in Charlottetown.

Smith's victims, a married couple who own the small apartment building he was working on, had paid him $4,000 for purchase of materials including sheets of metal roofing, said Goulden.

In January 2019 as he was about to begin work, Smith claimed the sheet metal had been stolen from the backyard of the property. At trial last month, Smith admitted he overcharged the victims for replacement materials they agreed to help him buy.

"They placed trust in Mr. Smith and he took them for a ride," Goulden said.

One of the victims was in court Wednesday as Smith was sentenced. She has health problems and Smith's fraud has added to the couple's difficulties, according to a victim impact statement.

'He played loose'

Smith's defence lawyer Alex Dalton had asked for an adjournment of Wednesday's sentencing to gather more information about the effect the sentence will have on Smith's business.

"He still has his business. He still has employees. He is currently working various jobs," said Dalton.

Judge John Douglas turned down the request for adjournment.

'When you get into financial difficulty, you don't take advantage of other people to solve it,' says P.E.I. Provincial Court Judge John Douglas. (Brian Higgins/CBC)

"He played loose with [the victims] and fabricated stories to police," said Douglas.

The judge ordered Smith to pay $1,125 restitution to the victims. Smith will serve his 90-day jail sentence on weekends — the judge said that will allow him to keep earning an income to repay the victims.

"It's important Mr. Smith and his employees keep busy. It's important his business survive," said Douglas. "When you get into financial difficulty, you don't take advantage of other people to solve it."

Smith testified in his own defence at trial and has not admitted to any criminal acts. He chose not to speak in court at his sentencing Wednesday.

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