Brenda Martin may return to Canada within weeks

A lawyer for Brenda Martin says his client will likely return home in the next few weeks -- even if she is found guilty -- because of a special extradition agreement between Canada and Mexico.

The two countries have reached a deal that would bypass the standard extradition document, which would require six to nine months before transferring a prisoner.

Instead, Martin would leave for Canada within weeks.

If found guilty, "she would be placed in Canadian custody, but she would get credit for all the time served," CTV's Lisa LaFlamme reported from Guadalajara, where Martin is in custody.

"So I'm told that if she's sentenced to five to seven years, she would not spend any time in a Canadian prison after the parole board hears her case."

But Martin, 51, is apparently unaware of the revised deal and has so far refused to sign the prisoner transfer document, because she believes she will be found innocent at a hearing set for Tuesday.

Martin, originally from Trenton, Ont., has already spent two years behind bars in Guadalajara on charges of money laundering. She says her health and psychological well-being have greatly deteriorated.

She is accused of knowingly accepting illicit funds from an Internet fraud scheme operated by Alyn Waage. Martin had been Waage's chef until she was fired.

Waage, in prison in the U.S., has issued an affidavit in support of Martin, saying she knew nothing about the scam and is innocent.