Supreme Court Hearings Her Majesty the Queen v. John Phillip Topp - March 23, 2011Case #33529 Customs broker John Topp was convicted in 2008 for failing to remit almost $4.8 milion dollars in import duties to Customs Canada. He was sentenced to five years in prison, but the Crown also wanted him to pay the maximum fine of $500,000. Defence counsel argued that Topp did not have the money or means to pay such a large fine. The Crown is appealing Topp’s sentence, as it was seeking both imprisonment and a fine.