[JURIST] Former Montreal advertising executive Paul Coffin [CBC profile] pleaded guilty Tuesday to 15 counts of fraud in a corruption scandal [CBC backgrounder; JURIST report] that has nearly brought down the government of Canadian Prime Minister Paul Martin [Wikipedia profile]. Coffin, originally charged with 18 counts until 3 were dropped by the Crown, admitted to repeatedly creating fake invoices in a sponsorship scam that overbilled the Canadian government millions of dollars between 1997 and 2002 for work never done on programs in support of Canadian unity. Sentencing arguments are set to begin on August 16. CBC has local coverage. AP has more.