Secretary of State for Multiculturalism Jason Kenney will head to Mexico this week in an attempt to expedite the prison transfer of Brenda Martin, a Canadian convicted of taking part in a fraud scheme carried out by her former boss.

Kenney is set to arrive in Guadalajara, where Martin has been held in jail for two years, on Friday. Martin was convicted on Tuesday and has already signed prison transfer documents that indicate she has accepted the verdict and has declined an appeal.

Heriberto Estrada, of the judge's office, told The Canadian Press that Martin's signing of the documents paves the way for officials to begin transfer paperwork.

Estrada said Martin's rights were not violated during her incarceration, saying all rules have been followed despite the attention and criticism the case has received in Canada.

He denied claims from Martin that she was treated unfairly during her trial, saying the judge in her case has plenty of evidence that proves she's guilty.

Martin is 'devastated'

Close friend Debra Tieleman said Wednesday that Martin was crushed by the guilty verdict and five-year sentence handed down on Tuesday by a Mexican judge.

"I think she's devastated," Tieleman told CTV's Canada AM from Guadalajara. "In as much as Brenda says she doesn't get her hopes up, of course she does. I think Brenda, in the back of her mind, maybe expected to come home to Canada. I think she's definitely devastated, there's no question."

Martin has always maintained her innocence and says she knew nothing about the business dealings of Alyn Waage, who is currently serving a sentence on fraud charges in a U.S. prison.

Tieleman said Mexican prosecutors have no actual evidence against Martin, and she has been found guilty simply by her association with Waage.

"I really did believe Brenda would get justice in the end, and that just didn't happen," Tieleman said.

CTV News has learned the Prime Minister's Office is directly involved in the prisoner-transfer process to bring Martin home.

Public Safety Minister Stockwell Day told CTV's Mike Duffy Live on Tuesday that the government is ready to bring Martin back to Canada after the red tape is sorted out and the prisoner-transfer agreement takes effect.

Tieleman said the government's apparent willingness to get involved is encouraging.

"Certainly I think it will help," she said. "Absolutely it's a positive sign that (Kenney) is coming. I hope this gets expedited and Brenda is home within a couple of weeks."

Five-day appeal delay

CTV's Lisa LaFlamme, reporting from Guadalajara, said a mandatory five-day appeal period must pass before the prisoner-transfer process can begin.

That means Martin, who has been heavily medicated and put on a suicide watch in recent days, will remain in her Mexican jail cell for a while yet.

When the transfer process is complete, Canadian custody officials will place Martin under guard and she will be flown home under their care -- likely in handcuffs.

She is expected to be taken to a detention facility in Ontario until a parole board has heard her case, LaFlamme said.

She is expected to be set free soon after that, under Canada's two-for-one pre-sentencing custody rule. Under the policy, the two years and two months Martin has served account for almost all of her five-year sentence.

"We're also told it will take weeks before that process can actually take place," LaFlamme said.

Martin had refused to sign transfer documents before the judge ruled in her case. She said signing such a document before the ruling was akin to admitting her own guilt.

In addition to her prison sentence, Martin, 51, was fined the equivalent of $3,600.

'Politically motivated'

Her mother, Marjorie Bletcher, told Canada AM she thinks the guilty ruling was a politically motivated decision.

"I guess they had to do this in order to clear themselves for holding her for 2.2 years," she said.

"Maybe so they could absolve themselves from blame or something."

She said she's concerned about her daughter's physical and emotional state following the ruling. She said she firmly believes Martin is innocent.

"I want her back in Canada. I hope it won't take a long, long time because I don't think she can make a long, long time," she said.

Mounting legal costs

Paul Macklin, the founder of the Save Brenda Fund and former MP for Northumberland County, which includes Trenton, said he is encouraged by the government's efforts to bring Martin home quickly and is hopeful she will be returned within weeks, rather than months.

"That is at least encouraging to us because when we started out with our original goal it was to make sure we get Brenda back into Canada alive," Macklin said.

"And despite yesterday's setback, and although it was a significant setback, in another sense we are actually moving forward and we're just that much closer to getting her back."

Macklin said the group has raised $27,000 to help pay for Martin's legal fees, but that falls far short of the more than $100,000 in costs that have been incurred in her defence.

With files from The Canadian Press