Collins receives reduced sentence after successful appeal

Ontario's highest court has reduced the jail sentence for the a woman involved in a major welfare fraud case.

Susan Collins, who is married to Fort William First Nation Chief Peter Collins, was sentenced in 2009 to 16 months behind bars for her role in a welfare fraud. 

Her lawyer appealed the sentence soon after and now the Ontario court of appeal has reduced her sentence to 10 months, followed by a two-year probation period.  

She had pleaded guilty for her role in the scheme, which saw the provincial welfare program defrauded of nearly $1.3-million through the creation of false client files.

Collins used the money she got from the fraud to feed a gambling addiction, meaning funds were either lost at the local casino or to conceal gambling losses from her husband. 

The appeal court upheld the earlier restitution order of $96,000 to Ontario Works.

Collins turned herself in to police earlier this week and will now serve her sentence at a correctional facility.