No justice for PMHA in alleged swindle

Annual general meeting of Penticton Minor Hockey Association told no charges will be laid in case involving former treasurer who died

A difficult chapter in the history of the Penticton Minor Hockey Association has now closed.

Those in attendance at the organization’s annual general meeting Wednesday were told Mounties have ended their criminal investigation into the alleged embezzlement of more than $300,000 by former treasurer Sandy Elder, who died in July 2013.

“The police have finally closed their file, effective April 2018, and no charges are going to be laid,” said PMHA president Kara Ouellette.

“As for the lawsuit moving forward, members of the executive will discuss that in the next few meetings, and we’ll meet with the attorney and determine how we will proceed.”

The lawsuit was launched in May 2014 against Elder’s husband and two children in an attempt to recoup some of the money she is alleged to have taken over a threeyear period.

According to PMHA’s notice of claim, Elder took $315,000 between May 2010 and April 2013 by altering cheques, creating fake invoices and employing other accounting tricks.

She then transferred some of the funds to her family and five John Does, the lawsuit claimed.

The money was discovered missing when former PMHA president Bruce Judd ordered a forensic audit of the organization’s books shortly after Elder’s death.

In their May 2015 reply to the lawsuit, Elder’s survivors suggested they were made “scapegoats” by PMHA.

The reply went on to add PMHA had its books audited regularly by a certified general accountant during Elder’s 11-year tenure and was therefore “not subject to any vulnerability” as a result of her position of trust.

Since the matter came to light, PMHA has tightened up its financial controls and audit procedures.

Penticton RCMP didn’t respond to a request for comment Thursday on the investigation.