A co-founder of a Calgary oil and gas company was sentenced to five years in prison after pleading guilty to fraud for stealing close to $5 million from the company.

Ian Wilson Fisher, 54, admitted to defrauding Arcan Resources, a company he launched with his brother and another man, by creating shell companies and dozens of false invoices.

“It was done through three corporations that were essentially fraudulent companies. It was fraudulent invoicing so billing for things that never happened,” said Crown prosecutor Steven Johnston.

“It’s easy to put in false invoices, especially if you’re in a position of trust where you’re able to do so,” said defence lawyer Adriano Iovinelli. “So it was a straight-out con in the sense of making false invoices, being paid and keeping the money.”

The fraud began in 2008 but it was 2015 before Fisher was charged. His guilty plea avoids a lengthy trial. The judge in the case accepted the lawyers’ joint recommendation of five years prison time.

Fisher declined to speak during his sentencing on Tuesday.

“Mr. Fisher never denied the allegations, it was just about determining what an appropriate sentence would be and what the quantum of the fraud was so it was always a desire from the beginning to resolve the matter,” said Iovinelli.

In an agreed statement of facts, the court heard that Fisher splurged on himself, buying a house in the resort community of Peachland, B.C. and blowing money on drugs. He has nothing left of the money he stole.

Doug Penner, former CFO of Arcan Resources, says there were a number of victims and that the impact on the company is immeasurable.

“I lost almost all of my savings. I lost my job, the company, my career,” he said. “There’s a lot of victims besides myself personally, all the staff were painted with that brush.”

He said “faceless shareholders” lost hundreds of millions in equity Arcan, which was bought by Aspenleaf Energy in 2015.

“I hope this sends a message if you commit fraud and steal from your employer, you're going to the penitentiary,” said Johnston.

Fisher has been convicted of fraud before and was sentenced in 1995 to a day in jail and probation.

On Tuesday, Fisher pleaded guilty to fraud over $5,000 and was also given a 20-year prohibition order, which prevents him from dealing with money through work or a volunteer position.

With a report by Ina Sidhu, CTV Calgary