SWEET SPOT: Creative Beginnings students occupy themselves while waiting for customers at their lemonade stand at 1440 Hugh Allan Drive. The kids — and Creative Beginnings staff — were raising money for the Boys and Girls Club’s Capital One Race For Kids, which took place on the weekend. From left: Mason, Owen, Kylie, Madison, Bentley, Carson and Aiden. Dave Eagles/KTW
TUESDAY
By Dale Bass dale@kamloopsthisweek.com
As Mounties pore over hundreds of documents in an investigation into possible fraud connected to the 2141 Spirit of Kamloops steam engine, city hall has been told no money is missing. However, there are still many questions that need answers, according to Doug Stewart, the city’s assistant finance director. The city brought Kamloops RCMP into the matter in March after a review of the finances for the Kamloops Heritage Railway Society raised issues that could not be explained, including the movement of $100,000 two times out of the society’s accounts. The city hired BDO
Canada to review the financial documents and, at some point during that review, questions arose that led the city to tell the reviewers to not speak with society board members again, Stewart said. That review noted the society has no documented policies and procedures, appearing to operate on “a fairly informal basis.” There were several instances in which invoices could not be found to confirm payments and the former treasurer, Joe Leong, and society board president Glenn Wideman often would pre-sign blank cheques. When KTW learned of the investigation in March, Wideman noted Leong was the board’s treasurer during the time frame that has drawn police attention, noting “there was definitely
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funds taken from our bank accounts.” The review notes two payments of $100,000 made to Leong in 2011 and 2012. Wideman told BDO those were for Leong to make investments on behalf of the society through Leong’s holding company. The cheques were made out to Leong personally. The first was recorded in society records on Feb. 10, 2011, clearing the bank the same day. On May 11, 2011, an entry was made reversing the cheque payment but there was no detail attached to the documentation to confirm the money had been put back into the account. On March 26, 2012, another $100,000 cheque cleared and on May 1, 2012, paperwork noted the money was returned. “As the transactions in
the bank did not support the change in the outstanding deposits in the bank reconciliation,” the review states, “BDO reviewed the QuickBooks file and could not access the 2011 bank reconciliations; nor could we identify the reversal of the outstanding deposit.” To try to confirm the money had actually been deposited, BDO reviewed the Jan. 1, 2011, and Dec. 31, 2010, balance sheets and found further documentation that could not be explained. On Dec. 31, 2010, the balance sheet shows a positive balance of $87,346.88, yet the Jan. 1, 2011, balance sheet — just 24 hours later — shows a negative balance of $1,865.47. The review speculates some items may have been posted and reversed to earlier dates.
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The review notes Wideman explaining the QuickBook files for 2010, kept on Leong’s computer, were lost in a hard-drive crash and could not be recovered. “As such, we were unable to confirm what transactions had been posted to 2010 from 2011,” the review notes. The review also notes the society records a contingency fund of $30,000 based on a line of credit. However, there is nothing in the society’s Interior Savings Credit Union statements to show a line of credit exists. RCMP Staff Sgt. Grant Learned said officers are working on the investigation, but noted it will take some time because of the number of documents that must be verified.
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A 20-year-old Comox man is in critical condition after diving into shallow water in Riverside Park on the weekend. Kamloops RCMP were called to the beach at about 2:45 a.m. on Sunday, June 2, after the man, part of a group of young adults partying in the park, was found floating facedown in the Thompson River. Members of the group pulled him from the river and started CPR. Kamloops Fire Rescue personnel took over once they arrived at the beach, reviving the man before he was taken to Royal Inland Hospital. The man, a tree planter, is reported to have head and spinal injuries. His name has not been released.
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Night dip leads to serious injuries for tree planter
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