A statement of claim was made Wednesday, September 18, by Sandy Bay Child and Family Services (CFS) to recover over $10 million from its former executive director, Richard De La Ronde.
Current executive director Sharon Desmarais explained that Sandy Bay Child and Family Services was placed under administration in 2021 by the Southern First Nations Network of Care. The leadership of Sandy Bay Ojibway First Nation had approached the Southern First Nations Network of Care regarding alleged mismanagement of agency funds by De La Ronde.
"At the time, the Southern First Nations Network of Care put the agency under administration and they conducted their own investigations into the allegations. Effective Wednesday, Sandy Bay Child and Family Services has filed a statement of claim against Mr. De La Ronde for fraud and mismanagement of funds."
Desmarais added that the misused funds allegedly benefited De La Ronde, his family, and his associates.
"Money was taken for his benefit, his family's benefit, and his associates, whom he worked with during his time as executive director. Richard De La Ronde is not a member of Sandy Bay Ojibway First Nation. He transferred his treaty status back in 2007 when he was hired as executive director. The leadership at the time had a relationship with him and gained his trust, agreeing to transfer his treaty status into the community. He was never a resident of Sandy Bay."
Desmarais explained that the situation is uncertain, as the statement of claim has just been filed. She noted that court proceedings can take anywhere from a year to a couple of years, and they hope for a quick resolution.
"At the end of the day, this is a lot of money that was taken directly from our children. As a result, our children didn’t have the prevention programming that should have been in place. This is money that our children could have benefited from. What Mr. De La Ronde did to the agency has caused our children to suffer."
She adds, to her knowledge, there hasn't been any similar charges ever related to De La Ronde in the past. As claimants, they're awaiting a statement of defense to be filed by De La Ronde, and in the meantime, Desmarais says she believes the evidence on their side is strong.
The statement outlined these allegations:
- Engaged in activities and relationships in clear conflict of interest with his role as executive director.
- Directly or indirectly caused Sandy Bay CFS to pay more than $718,000 to himself, his wife, or companies directly or indirectly controlled by them.
- Incorporated Radka Inc., which then purchased five properties and leased them back to CFS under inappropriate and commercially unreasonable terms, totalling more than $6 million in payments.
- Entered into lease agreements on behalf of CFS for vehicles and equipment at rates exceeding market value by more than $345,000.
- Purchased snowmobiles for $77,000, though CFS never benefited from the equipment.
- Transferred a CFS-owned property near Swan River, Manitoba, to Radka Inc. for $1.00, later selling it for profit without reimbursing CFS.
- Fraudulently obtained reimbursements from CFS for credit card charges exceeding $1 million.