St. John's housing advocate pleads guilty to fraud, but legal aid request delays sentencing

CBC

3 days ago

A St. John's housing advocate has pleaded guilty to fraud, but sentencing has been delayed after a last-minute request for legal aid services.
In an agreed statement of facts, Michelle Voisey, also known as Michelle Gushue, admitted to creating an online Canada Revenue Agency account in her niece's name and applying for CERB, the federal financial support for Canadians impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.
According to the statement of facts, Voisey's niece contacted police when her GST payment didn't arrive on time. She learned that $8,000 in CERB payments had been paid out in her name — even though she hadn't applied and didn't qualify for the benefit.
Voisey was charged in October 2021, and pleaded guilty to one count of fraud over $5,000 in March 2025. However, at her sentencing hearing on Tuesday, Justice Peter Browne agreed to delay sentencing while Voisey waits to find out if she's eligible for legal aid.
According to Legal Aid lawyer Ben Curties, who spoke during the hearing, Voisey had called earlier in the day. Voisey told them she had received her tax return assessment and believed she now met the income threshold to apply for representation.
Voisey also provided the court with a letter from a doctor who she says is finalizing a mental health diagnosis for her.
"This should've been brought to the court's attention much earlier in the process," Browne said.
Crown lawyer Kellie Cullihall unsuccessfully objected to the delay — the latest in a proceeding that has been ongoing for years.
"It is nothing more than another delay tactic in a long line of delay tactics," Cullihall said.
Cullihall confirmed that the Crown is "absolutely" seeking prison time for Voisey.
Voisey has a lengthy criminal record, with about 50 convictions for fraud, theft, forgery and other crimes. In 2015, she was sentenced to three years in prison for defrauding four businesses and an individual.
The statement of facts notes that her previous surnames are Gushue and Dodd, and Voisey is her married name.
She was a central part of the 2023 tent city protest on Confederation Hill in St. John's. Under the name Michelle Gushue, she solicited donations of gift cards, cell phones, cash and more for people who lived at the site. As recently as May 2024, Voisey was featured in a Saltwire article about the now-defunct tent encampment in Bannerman Park.
The pending case is unrelated to the tent city protest.