Woman gets 4 years for embezzling $1.4M

Embezzling more than $1.4 million from her employer earned a Calgary woman four years in prison Monday.

Family members of Linda Louise Miller fought back tears and anger as Provincial Court Judge Allan Fradsham agreed to a joint Crowndefence submission she spend that amount of time behind bars.

Over an eight-year period, Miller stole more than $1.422 million from her employer Trimac Corp., spending 75 per cent of it on gambling, said her lawyer Lori MacKay.

“There was no lavish lifestyle being supported by this,” MacKay told court. She said Miller initially purloined money from the company to cover debts and “had every intention of paying that back.”

But matters spun out of control, said MacKay, who also noted her client had pleaded guilty to fraud over $5,000 and was co-operative with authorities. She’d been with the company for 21 years when the theft was uncovered in 2013 and worked in the accounts receivable department overseeing incoming payments from Trimac clients.

Court heard earlier that she intercepted funds meant for the company social club and by making fraudulent expense claims related to the same group. MacKay said at one point she tried to remove herself from the social club to stop the thefts but wasn’t allowed to quit because no one else would take her place. Fradsham accepted Miller was remorseful but said the crime had been a violation of trust that impacted family and work colleagues.

“A corporation is made up of individuals and it’s a blow to them, and the fact that it’s a corporation doesn’t minimize the loss,” he said.

Miller’s been ordered to pay restitution by foregoing pension funds she’d accrued while working for Trimac and $100,000 in retirement money.