Terry Sedawie appears in this 2016 photo.

Image Credit: FACEBOOK: The One Person Project

Summerland resident Terry Lee Sedawie was respected and well-loved and had worked for the Royal Bank of Canada for 25 years before she began dipping into other people's accounts.

By 2011 when she first started getting her employees to transfer customer funds into her accounts she was a senior account manager who'd been awarded RBC's highest honour.

She was a regular volunteer at the Penticton SADI youth club and the Special Olympics and received the Summerland Chamber of Commerce Professional Service Excellence award in 2016.

However, while all this was going on she was transferring hundreds of thousands of dollars from the accounts of elderly customers to herself.

Over a period of seven years, she defrauded the bank's clients of $846,278.

Monday, Oct. 7, at the Penticton courthouse, Sedawie, now in her mid-60s, sat listening as Crown prosecutor Kevin Marks said she should spend three years in jail.

"It really is impossible to grasp how someone like you Ms. Sedawie could go from being trusted and respected to committing such a profound betrayal," BC Provincial Court Judge Greg Koturbash said. "It indeed, leaves me struggling to understand how a person could fall so far." 

The court heard how Sedawie had instructed her employees to transfer customers' money into her accounts. None of the staff questioned it because of her position at the bank, but over time 16 employees found themselves under investigation as RBC tried to trace the missing money.

In total, 125 separate transactions took place over the years and Sedawie made attempts to cover her tracks. She made minimum payments on accounts she took money from and changed addresses so customers didn't get their bank statements.

She preyed on vulnerable people purposely targeting the elderly. In total, there were six victims, all of whom she knew personally. One elderly lady even left her $5,000 in her will.

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As the clients passed away from old age she moved on to the next one.

One elderly client had to move from the assisted living care home where she lived to a rooming house because she could no longer afford the $6,000 a month rent.

The court heard how the woman lost 25 lb. and mentally and physically declined.

The Crown said Sedawie's actions of "deception and deceit" were widespread.

The Crown said Sedawie got staff members to transfer money from lines of credit and chequing accounts to her credit card. None of them realized what they were doing.

However, when the bank began its investigation there was a "cloud of suspicion" on them.

In total, Sedawie withdrew $664,000 in cash advances on her credit card.

The judge said the amount of money involved was "staggering."

The court heard how Sedawie had three adult sons, of whom two were addicted to drugs.

She said she'd taken the money to pay off her son's drug debts, as people had been to her house and threatened to hurt her son.

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She also headed to the casino to try and win back the money she'd taken and wanted to repay it all before anyone noticed.

"It's one bad decision, after another," the Crown told the court.

The court heard how Sedawie had serious mental health issues and had made numerous attempts at suicide. Twice she had tried to kill herself the day before the case was supposed to go to trial.

However, Judge Koturbash said her mental health disorder only played a minimal part in what she had done.

"(It was) planned, premeditated and calculated," the judge said.

RBC began investigating in 2018 and the former senior account manager admitted she had taken the money. A bigger investigation got underway as the bank began to realize the extent of how much money Sedawie had taken.

At one point she even called investigators and told them where to look.

"Documents don't lie, they tell the story," the Crown said.

Sedawie was fired and went bankrupt in 2019. She now lives on a small RBC pension.

The judge issued a restitution order for her to pay back the full amount but the court heard it would likely never happen.

Her actions had left the staff members involved angry and betrayed, and all were cleared of any wrongdoing. The bank also paid back all its customers.

While the vast amount of the money went on to her credit card some had gone directly into her chequing account.

The lawyer said she'd spent $145,000 on groceries, gas, restaurants and small amounts on Facebook Marketplace.

In a joint submission, the Crown and defence lawyers asked for three years in jail. It was hoped that Sedawie would get the mental health care she needed in prison as she hadn't managed to get it in the community.

When asked to speak before being sentenced Sedawie corrected her lawyer to say she'd attempted suicide five or six times. She then thanked him for being patient with her.

Her lawyer told the court Sedawie had replied, "I’ll take that. I deserve that," when he told her the Crown wanted three years jail.

Ultimately, Judge Koturbash sentenced Sedaie to three years behind bars, describing the events as a "stunning fall from grace."

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