After fleeing to UK twice, Calgary woman gets 4-year prison sentence for $2-million fraud

A judge gave a four year, two-month sentence Friday to a Calgary woman who twice fled to the UK to avoid being sent to prison for stealing nearly $2-million from her employer.

Carol Lloyd, 66, pleaded guilty to fraud over $5,000 last summer. She received some credit for the time she’d spent in custody both in Canada and the UK and has two years left to serve.

Lloyd was also ordered by Justice Brandy Shaw to pay a fine equivalent to the amount of money she stole. If she fails to pay the fine she could face up to five years of further prison time.

In delivering her decision, Justice Shaw noted that in 2015, Lloyd created 117 false invoices and exploited her position as property manager of FirstService Residential in Calgary.

The judge described it as an “extremely large” fraud against the property management company.

Released on bail, flees again

Lloyd stole more than $1.8-million by setting up a company with a similar name to that of a legitimate contractor, and then arranging for payments to be made to that company from FirstService.

In November 2015, Lloyd flew to the UK to avoid arrest.

After unsuccessfully fighting extradition, Lloyd was returned to Canada in 2021 to face her fraud charges.

But she was released on bail and within two weeks, Lloyd was back in the UK.

Guilty plea

It took another four years to get Lloyd returned to Calgary as she continued to fight to stay in the UK.

Finally, in the spring of 2025, Lloyd was back before a Calgary judge. She pleaded guilty in August.

Prosecutor Dane Bullerwell asked Justice Shaw to impose a five-year sentence, while defence lawyer Ryan Millar asked the judge to consider a two-year, time-served sentence.

Millar argued for his client to receive credit for the time she served while fighting extradition in the UK.

No reward for 'taking flight'

Shaw gave Lloyd a half-day of credit for each day she was in custody in England.

Lloyd also argued that her age and health conditions should be considered in sentencing.

The judge noted that the 10 years it took to bring the case to resolution was “solely created” by Lloyd herself.

“An offender should not be rewarded for taking flight,” said Shaw.

Lloyd 'dishonest'

Not only did Lloyd flee twice, she also was repeatedly found to have lied to the courts.

In a 2020 decision rejecting Lloyd’s bid to fight extradition, UK Chief Magistrate Justice Emma Arbuthnot found that Lloyd’s evidence was “dishonest” and that she’d made “false assertions that she had attempted suicide.”

“It is rarely the case that a defendant …is ready to go to such lengths to mislead a court but I find that this has happened in this case,” said Justice Arbuthnot.

The UK Secretary of State ordered Lloyd’s extradition and she was surrendered to Canada in June 2021.

'Many untruths'

Back in Calgary, Justice Terry Semenuk released Lloyd on bail in July 2021. Two weeks later, Lloyd absconded to the UK, in breach of her bail conditions.

A second extradition request was made in 2023. Lloyd fought that too.

Again, a British judge found Lloyd “told many untruths to the court.”

“Mrs. Lloyd… has exaggerated or deliberately told untruths about a number of matters about which she complains regarding her treatment within the Canadian prison estate,” said District Judge John Zani.

“I find that her motivation for doing so is driven by her desire not to be extradited and to try to bolster her challenges to extradition," said Zani.

In 2025, Lloyd was once again extradited back to Canada.