QMI Calgary--Calgary music promoter Kristopher Cook, who is being investigated by police for what friends allege is a fraud that saw them raise thousands of dollars under the belief he was suffering from brain cancer. (Supplied photo)
CALGARY - Cancer faker Kristopher Cook should receive up to a nine-month jail term for swindling friends into making donations for his medical treatment, a prosecutor said Friday.
But the lawyer for the Calgary man said Cook's already done enough time behind bars, just over three months, and should be spared any further custody.
But defence counsel Joel Chevrefils' hope his client would be out before the holidays didn't pan out, as the judge reserved his sentencing until January.
Provincial court Judge Terry Semenuk said he wanted to hand down a written ruling in the case in light of the public interest surrounding it.
Crown prosecutor Mike Ewenson said further incarceration for Cook was necessary, to both deter him and others from similar scams.
Ewenson said crooks who used people's benevolence to commit fraud put charities at risk of future funding.
"These charities help the most vulnerable people in society," Ewenson said.
