The Penticton Minor Hockey Association is going to try to recover over $300,000 from the estate of former treasurer Sandy Elder who is accused of embezzlement.
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May 02, 2014 - 12:00 PM
PENTICTON – The former treasurer of the Penticton Minor Hockey Association, who died last summer, allegedly stole over $300,000 in what is being called a sophisticated embezzlement scheme.
It wasn't until after Sandy Elder’s death in July of 2013 that Association president Bruce Judd, suspicious of fraudulent behavior, hired a law firm and a forensic accountant to investigate. The RCMP were also involved in the probe.
The investigation found that Edler had misappropriated $315,650 from PMHA between May 1, 2010 to April 30, 2013. It’s not clear yet how the money was spent.
Elder used altered cheques, falsified receipts, financial records, referee payments and concession revenue in the scheme, according to a media release.
When contacted by InfoTel News, Judd wouldn’t comment other than to say, "We are going forward with legal action. It's a shame it went to this point."
“In cases such as these, it can be very difficult for victims to locate and execute on sufficient funds or assets,” minor hockey’s lawyer Erik Lund said in the release. “It is an unfortunate reality of the legal world that you really can’t get blood from a stone.”
In Elder’s obituary notice her family asked that in lieu of flowers that mourners give back to the community with a donation to the Minor Hockey Association’s bursary fund.
To contact the reporter for this story, email Meaghan Archer at marcher@infotelnews.ca or call 250-488-3065. To contact the editor, email mjones@infotelnews.ca or call 250-718-2724.
News from © iNFOnews, 2014