Ex-bookkeeper arraigned on charges of defrauding parishes

A former bookkeeper for two Roman Catholic parishes on the Eastern Shore was arraigned in Dartmouth provincial court this week on 10 fraud-related charges.

Patricia Anne Dixon, 48, is accused of defrauding the former Saint Anselm’s Parish in West Chezzetcook and then the Saint John of the Cross Parish, which encompasses three churches between East Chezzetcook and Sheet Harbour, of more than $250,000.

The East Chezzetcook woman faces three counts of fraud over $5,000, three counts of possession of more than $5,000 in property that had been obtained by crime, and single counts of falsifying books and documents, uttering forged cheques, identity theft and identity fraud.

According to court documents, most of the offences were allegedly committed between July 2008 and December 2020. Two of the offences allegedly went on until April 2021.

RCMP announced the charges this March, saying they received a complaint in July 2019 about financial irregularities at a parish in West Chezzetcook.

The complaint prompted an internal investigation by the Archdiocese of Halifax-yarmouth, which provided its findings to police in December 2020.

Following a lengthy investigation by members of the Rcmp-halifax Regional Police financial crime unit, Dixon was arrested and charged this March.

“The woman used her position as the parish’s bookkeeper to access funds from the parish’s bank accounts for personal use and established recurring payments made to various establishments offering products and services within Nova Scotia,” RCMP alleged in a March 25 news release.

Lawyer Mark Holden appeared in court this week on behalf of Dixon, who was not present.

Holden told the judge he is awaiting disclosure of a large amount of evidence from the Crown and will need time to review the material and meet with his client.

Judge Amy Sakalauskas scheduled the case to return to court in July for election and plea.

'ELABORATE PROCESS'

In a March 21 letter to Saint John of the Cross parishioners, Father Vincent Onyekelu said most of the alleged criminal conduct occurred in the former parish.

“However, we understand the alleged criminal actions did continue in our new parish for a short while before the employee was terminated with cause in December 2020,” Onyekelu wrote.

He said the alleged fraud involved numerous small transactions, with an "elaborate process" to cover up each transaction.

“It has been determined that the individual who has been charged acted alone,” Onyekelu said.

“In partnership with the archdiocese, we have taken steps to tighten up our financial practices. This will allow us to ensure similar breaches will not be repeated and provide more accountability and transparency regarding our parish finances.”

He said the decision to close Saint Anselm’s Church in November 2018 was based on numerous factors, including an $875,000 debt to the archdiocese and a mould problem that could have cost upwards of $400,000 to fix.

“With these staggering amounts, the parish obviously had a structural financial problem,” he said. “The subsequent discovery of theft and fraud, even though it was quite substantial, does not impact the decision to close the church. The church will remain closed.”

The priest asked worshippers to pray for their parish community and for the person who has been charged. “They, more than anyone, need to know they are still loved and that we pray for them as a member of our Christian family,” he said.