The former director of agriculture and transportation services for Strathcona County has been arrested on fraud charges.
In June, the Strathcona County RCMP General Investigation Section received a fraud complaint that initiated an investigation.
As a result of that investigation, 44-year-old David Churchill was arrested and charged with the following:
- Theft over $5000
- Fraud over $5000
- Uttering a forged document
Strathcona County has released a statement on the matter saying that Churchill is no longer working for the county.
The County council first heard about the matter in June and took immediate action in ordering an independent, forensic audit and handing the investigation over to the RCMP.
"We have an array of checks, balances, and policies in place when it comes to our financial systems and assets and it is due to these checks and balances that the matter came before us," said Darrell Reid, the chief commissioner with the county. "Due to the nature of the charges, a review of those systems was conducted to ensure no further incidents of this nature"
"We are confident that the events are isolated in nature, and we have tightened some processes to ensure no further incidents like this can occur."
Mayor Rod Frank says the results of the audit have not been released yet.
"The audit findings were presented to Council in November and due to the ongoing RCMP investigation as well as privacy considerations were not disclosed publicly," said Frank.
Churchill has been served a summons and will appear in a provincial court in early February.
A press conference released more information on where Churchill used the cash. The update is here.