A Kootenay man charged with fraud by using bad cheques to pay a restaurant bill pleaded guilty at province court in Cranbrook on Tuesday.

Mike Lawrence Gould pleaded guilty to fraud, however, he is facing a second count of using a forged document, which has been put over until Feb. 26 for disposition.

Gould was represented by legal counsel, but was not present in the courtroom. During the proceedings, the fraud count was also amended to reflect fraud over $5,000.

The charges stem from an alleged incident where Northwest Grill, a local restaurant, went unpaid after Gould hosted a banquet for a local junior hockey team.

According to restaurant owner Jolene Salanski, cheques were provided to cover the bill, however, there were no funds in the accounts provided.

Gould pledged to donate $7.5 million to the Kimberley Dynamiters Jr. B hockey club last fall, claiming he won millions of dollars in a European lottery.

Since his pledge that was made in October during a centre ice ceremony at the Kimberley Civic Centre, the Dynamiters has not received any money.

The donation was also intended to provide funds for the Kimberley Minor Hockey Association, which has seen less corporate sponsorship because of Gould鈥檚 pledge.