Burnaby Now June 10 2015

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LOCAL NEWS – LOCAL MATTERS

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Fraud case moved for fifth time Bookkeeper had been charged with defrauding Alpha secondary of $66,000 over two years By Cornelia Naylor

cnaylor@burnabynow.com

A bookkeeper who pleaded guilty well over a year ago to defrauding a Burnaby school of $66,000 has yet to make a plea that sticks. Jodi Fingarsen, a 48-year-old former bookkeeper at Alpha secondary, pleaded guilty to fraud in February 2014 for 66 irregular cheques she wrote between 2008 and 2010. During a sentencing hearing in June 2014, however, judge Frances Howard threw out Fingarsen’s guilty plea, saying the bookkeeper hadn’t actual acknowledged guilt. “She seems to be doing everything she can in her interviews to avoid admitting the actual act of fraud by kind of slipping under the umbrella of accepting responsibility in a very vague sort of way,” Howard said. Since then, Fingarsen has been scheduled to enter a guilty plea four times, according to court services online, but each time her case has been adjourned at the request of her lawyer, the second she has retained since her case began. Fingarsen appeared in Vancouver Provincial Court last Tuesday, and her case was put off again until June 16. Crown Counsel Peter Stabler called the case “straightforward” at last June’s sentencing hearing. When asked this week how long cases of this kind usual take to resolve, he said, “Not this long.” Besides the criminal charges, Fingarsen also faces a parallel civil claim from the Burnaby school district, launched in June 2012. It alleges Fingarsen, who was Alpha’s bookkeeper between 2007 and 2010, stole up to $100,000 from school coffers over

HORSING AROUND: Folks of all ages gathered at the Burnaby Equestrian Centre on Sunday to discover horses at the Burnaby Horsemens Association’s open house. The event, which ran from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Burnaby Lake riding facility, featured a number of different activities and demonstrations for all-ages, including pony rides, barn tours, a barbecue, crafts and games, and information about BHA, Burnaby Lake Pony Club and public lessons. Above, Corinna Talbot, 7, pets Capataze after a ride around the ring. Right, 20-month-old Anita Wong takes her first pony ride. Below, riders compete in a round of horse soccer. PHOTOS JENNIFER GAUTHIER

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