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Kamloops  

'Crime of vanity and greed'

A woman who stole an elderly man's identity to pay for breast implants, a tummy tuck and liposuction should spend nine to 12 months in jail, prosecutors have told a judge in Kamloops.

Brandie Bloor, 39, pleaded guilty in provincial court Thursday to fraud over $5,000 and identity theft but will have to wait until late June for Judge Len Marchand to hand down his sentence.

Bloor had also been charged with two counts of forgery in relation to her surgery scam, but those charges were dropped in exchange for her plea.

Crown counsel Katie Bouchard called the offence "a crime of vanity and greed" that drew the attention of police in February 2014 after an 83-year-old man received a letter from a loan company.

The letter said he was behind on payments after borrowing $15,000 for cosmetic surgeries — a loan on which he was listed as a cosignor with Bloor.

"He was surprised and confused when he received the letter because he didn't know a Brandie Bloor and hadn't, to his knowledge, taken out a loan," Bouchard said.

The loan agreement also listed the senior as Bloor's grandfather.

Bouchard said Bloor denied ever making a loan application and having the surgeries and claimed she must have been impersonated as well.

But she said investigators spoke to the doctor who performed Bloor's surgeries — breast augmentation, a tummy tuck and liposuction — in November 2013. She said the doctor noted the patient had a rose tattoo on her stomach, which police were able to confirm.

Bouchard said Bloor then claimed she had been working as an escort and the 83-year-old man was a client who wanted to help her out, a claim police also disproved.

The man denied ever having met Bloor or any escort, and Bouchard said police also matched information on the loan application with a driver's licence that had been reported stolen in 2010.

"There was no medical necessity for any of the surgeries. They were all done for what she perceived as personal gain and personal advantage," said Bouchard.

Bloor has a lengthy criminal history, including 15 convictions for forgery.

The Crown is seeking a jail term in the range of nine to 12 months, while defence asked for a sentence between four and six months.



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