Bermudian status fraudster Robert Martyn was handed a six-month suspended prison sentence in Supreme Court yesterday ? although even greater sanctions are on the horizon if his conviction is not overturned on appeal.

Mr. Martyn, 43, of Harrington Sound Road in Smith?s, was found guilty in May of conspiring to fraudulently obtain his father?s Bermudian status, and by extension his own, in early 2000 by assisting in the submission of false documents to the Department of Immigration.

Mr. Martyn ? whose sentence was suspended for 18 months ? now faces the strong possibility of deportation back to his native Canada and being barred from practising law.

But all this is on hold until the appeal is heard on an as yet unknown date.

Addressing Puisne Judge Carlisle Greaves, Crown counsel Oonagh Vaucrosson argued Mr. Martyn ? a lawyer for Westbury Limited owned by Canadian billionaire Michael DeGroot,s who was present in court ? should receive an ?immediate? custodial sentence for defrauding the Government and avoiding a variety of taxes and licensing fees as a result of obtaining status, totalling close to $500,000.

In particular, as result of tricking Immigration into conferring status upon him, Mr. Martyn was able to purchase his $1.9 million home on Harrington Sound which commands an ARV (Annual Rental Value) well below the minimum stipulated for non-Bermudians.

Mr. Martyn had also incorporated a trust company locally of which he, as a Bermudian, was able to own 100 percent of the shares and only be subject minimal fees and regulatory monitoring.

But defence lawyer Saul Froomkin QC said the Crown had ?overreached? in its demands in all respects, while lobbying Justice Greaves for an absolute discharge in light of the other ?severe? sanctions that are likely to be imposed on Martyn by other authorities.

He also challenged the Crown?s assertion that Martyn had benefited financially from his actions while maintaining that although his client had been found unanimously guilty by a jury, his client ?in his heart? still knew he was innocent.

The offence was ?an aberration?, Mr. Froomkin concluded, in a life otherwise free of crime with frequent examples of philanthropy.

A clearly nervous Martyn, meanwhile, asked the court to show compassion so as to allow him a chance at rebuilding his life and to continue supporting his children.

However, Justice Greaves rejected the submissions of both sides, arguing that neither alternatives were appropriate in the circumstances.

Labelling the fraud ?clever and calculating?, Justice Greaves acknowledged Martyn?s previously good character while highlighting the lack of appropriate options available to him other than a suspended prison sentence.

Any financial loss incurred by the Government would have to be claimed through the civil process, he added.