Toronto Police have charged five people with defrauding a school for special-needs children of about $700,000.
In September 2008, Bloorview School Authority, which provides learning and therapy for about 150 kids, mostly between the ages of four and six, hired forensic auditors to review its finances from July 2006 to that date.
“I came in September 2007 and immediately began an internal
investigation that led to a third-party forensic audit. We handed over all of
the information to the police,” Bloorview's director, Saryl Jacobson, told CityNews.ca. She claims to have noticed irregularities on the books soon after she started.
“I haven’t been able to say anything about this. So it’s been pretty hushed until today’s report.”
The investigators reported back alleging that five people had pocketed hundreds of thousands of dollars from the school by misusing credit cards, getting pay for work they didn’t perform and other accounting schemes.
The Toronto Police Fraud Squad was called in and, after their own probe, arrested four employees and another woman: former finance manager Paula Gerolimon, 49, of Richmond Hill; former principal Linda LaRocque, 63, of Vernon, B.C.; former administrative assistant Bo-Reum Han, 38, of Mississauga; former secretary Rose Hudson, 37, of Brampton; and Sandra Charles, 36, of Toronto.
All five face charges of fraud over $5,000. Gerolimon is also accused of falsifying the books and both she and LaRocque, of money laundering.
They are scheduled to appear in court on Feb. 15.
Jacobson said staff and parents have reacted to the allegations with sadness and outrage and that programming wasn't affected during the time of the alleged misuse of funds.