Hospital union treasurer charged in $1-million fraud
The treasurer of a union local representing St. Joseph’s Healthcare workers has been charged with stealing about $1 million.
Elizabeth Marck, 57, of Hamilton is facing charges of fraud over $5,000 and theft over $5,000.
Hamilton police allege $1 million from CUPE Local 786 was stolen for personal use between January 2010 and March 2017.
Marck was treasurer of the local for the entirety of the seven years when the money went missing, said Const. Jerome Stewart.
Police declined to detail how Marck is alleged to have stolen the money.
The charges come amid a yearlong investigation by the Hamilton police major fraud unit, which was contacted in July 2017 about “several accounting irregularities,” police said.
Marck was released on a promise to appear in court on Aug. 7.
Stewart said detectives do not anticipate laying any further charges.
A LinkedIn profile for a Liz Marck says she has worked for 33 years at St. Joseph Healthcare as a payroll specialist.
Susan Hollis, St. Joseph Healthcare vice-president and chief financial officer, said that in March 2018, St. Joseph’s was made aware by members of Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) Local 786 of suspicious account activity within the CUPE treasury.
“A member of CUPE with access to the treasury and employed by the hospital was placed on immediate leave,” said Hollis.
An investigation related to the administration of St. Joseph's Healthcare Hamilton’s payroll was completed and no fraud was identified, she added.
CUPE Local 786 trustee administrator Gus Olivera echoed what was in the police statement on the charges, adding he could not comment further as it is a criminal investigation, the accused is or was a member of the local and he does not want to put the union into further liability.
He said the local was put into trusteeship in June 2017, meaning that the national body now administers it, a mechanism that sometimes kicks in when a local is dealing with suspicions irregularities. June 2017 is when the local went to the police with its concerns, he said.