By Ian Holmes

Jail time & huge fine

Former Nanaimo hospice executive convicted of Kelowna fraud, ordered to repay $100K

Jul 31, 2019 | 10:30 AM

NANAIMO — A disgraced former non-profit executive who stole more than $100,000 from a Kelowna based hospice organization is going back to jail and handed a much heavier fine.

Susan Maureen Steen, 72, was sentenced to eight months jail and ordered to pay back the Central Okanagan Hospice Association a staggering $106,000 in restitution.

Steen pleaded pleaded guilty Wednesday, July 31 to a charge of fraud over $5,000 in provincial court in Vancouver prior to being sentenced.

She stole the money via a credit card between 2012 and 2016 while she was the organization’s executive director.

Steen recently completed a four month stint in jail and ordered to pay back $17,000 to the Nanaimo Community Hospice Society (NCHS) for committing the same crime in Nanaimo.

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Steen stole about $6,000 from NCHS, but her restitution bill increased to reflect financial audits and legal fees incurred by the Nanaimo organization.

At her Nanaimo sentencing hearing in December, 2018, court was told a longstanding gambling addiction was the primary thrust behind her inappropriate credit card use while she was the head of NCHS.

Steen was hired by the NCHS in December, 2016 and fired about six months later when her inappropriate spending came to light.

Court was told she misspent funds during her entire tenure with the NCHS.

Co-accused Melanie Joanne Gray was sentenced in March to five months in jail and ordered to pay back the Okanagan Hospice Association $69,000 for stealing from the organization.

ian@nanaimonewsnow.com

On Twitter: @reporterholmes