Siamak Saidi, former SFU director of finance, has pleaded guilty to the charge of fraud against SFU.

He was charged with defrauding the university of over $800,000 and, after one year in custody, has been sentenced to four more. In addition to his four-year sentence, Saidi has been ordered to pay a restitution of $50,000 to the university.

The money was funnelled out of the Faculty of Science. An internal audit showed that over the two years Saidi spent in his position, he processed over 500 false invoices from companies of which he was a director. His actions were discovered by a new manager only after he had left the job.

Saidi has also pleaded guilty to another count of fraud of against the Cultus Lake Park Board of which he is now a former employee. Records show that he siphoned approximately $10,500 in HST funds from the board.

Saidi’s lawyer, Larry Gold, told CBC, “The crimes that he plead guilty, they were serious, they involved a lot of money and a fair amount of planning.” Gold also said of Saidi, “He’s a man in his middle 50’s who hasn’t really got a lot to look forward to when he comes out.”