Saskatchewan Director Admits to Embezzling $500,000

The former executive director of the Wheatland Regional Library in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada, has pleaded guilty to embezzling at least $500,000 Canadian between 1990 and 2004.

Bruce Cameron, who had headed the library since 1971, admitted in provincial court May 14 that he established a fictitious Nevada-based company called Desert Rose Books with which he placed book orders and then funneled the money back to himself, the Canadian National Post reported May 20.

Members of the library’s executive committee found invoicing discrepancies after receiving an anonymous phone call tipping them off. After hiring a private investigator the board fired Cameron in 2004 and filed a civil lawsuit that year alleging he had paid more than $900,000 to a fictitious “Herbert B. Cochrane,” the supposed owner of Desert Rose Books.

Wheatland is one of seven regional libraries in Saskatchewan, serving 141 communities through 44 branches.

Crown prosecutor Gary Parker said outside court that Cameron has repaid the $500,000 he admits to having stolen, the Saskatoon Star Phoenix reported May 14. He will be sentenced August 27.

Posted on May 24, 2008. Discuss.

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