FILE PHOTO
Image Credit: Global Okanagan (with permission)
December 04, 2020 - 11:58 AM
Former Kelowna social worker Robert Riley Saunders has been charged with multiple counts of fraud and theft after a RCMP investigation that began in 2018.
In March of 2018, Kelowna RCMP began its investigation into the allegedly fraudulent activity of Saunders while he was employed with the Ministry of Children and Family Development from 1996 to 2018, according to the RCMP in a news release.
The investigation was led by the Fraud Section of the Kelowna RCMP Serious Crime Unit, Supt. Kara Triance, officer in charge of the Kelowna RCMP, said in a news release.
"We are pleased to be able to report back to the community that the matter has now advanced into the judicial process," Triance said.
READ MORE: Class action lawsuit against Kelowna social worker prompts calls for better oversight
Following a review of the investigation, the B.C. Prosecution Service has approved 13 charges against Saunders including 10 counts of fraud over $5,000, one count of theft over $5,000, one count of breach of trust and one count of uttering a forged document.
A warrant of arrest was issued by the courts for Saunders, who was arrested in Alberta. He remains in custody and will be brought back to appear in Kelowna Provincial Court next week.
RCMP said no further information will be released to the public as the matter is now before the courts.
In a class action lawsuit, Saunders is accused of stealing basic living allowances from roughly 102 children who were in the care of the B.C. government. Saunders was responsible for those children as a Kelowna social worker with the Ministry of Children and Family Development.
The children Saunders allegedly stole from are eligible to receive between $25,000 and $250,000 each, as per a settlement agreement reached in November with the B.C. government and approved by the B.C Supreme Court.
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