Woman allegedly stole $1M from ATM
Last Updated: November 11, 2010 7:15pm
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WINNIPEG - A former hospital financial clerk has been arrested and charged with fraud, after it was discovered more than $1 million had been stolen from the hospital's ATM.
The 46-year-old woman, who was a long-term employee at Misericordia Health Centre, was arrested Wednesday.
According to Winnipeg police, the timeline of the fraud spanned a decade - between January 2000 and January 2010.
"It's a significant fraud," said Const. Robert Carver. "It's not unheard of in Winnipeg ... but (this case) is somewhat rare, given the amounts."
Hospital spokeswoman Heidi Klaschka said the illegal activity came to light after "internal concerns" were raised back in April. An external forensic audit was conducted, which uncovered the fraud.
"We immediately terminated (the employee) as soon as we heard," Klaschka said.
Hospital staff and police are both baffled as to how such a significant amount of money could be taken without detection.
"If you divide $1 million by 10 years, that's $100,000 a year, that's still $10,000 or so a month ... It's not miniscule numbers," Carver said.
Klaschka said hope to eventually determine how the alleged fraud happened.
"From what I can understand, it was a very complicated process," she said.
At the time of the theft, the Misericordia-owned ATM, located near the urgent care entrance, was operated by the health centre, Klaschka said. It is now operated by a third-party firm.
"As soon as we determined that there had been a theft, we put in place controls to reduce the risk of this ever happening again," she said.
Klaschka said the fraud is not related to any patient funding or the Misericordia Health Centre Foundation.
A search warrant was executed on the former employee's residence, where cash and various proceeds of crime were seized, according to police. High-end items, such as Prada and Louis Vuitton products, were found in the home, Carver said.
The accused was released on a promise to appear. She faces charges of fraud over $5,000, theft over $5,000 and possessing proceeds of a crime.
"We were pleased to be able to let staff know that charges are being laid," Klaschka said. "We're looking forward to closure as this goes to court."
jillian.austin@sunmedia.ca (Toronto Sun)
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