The former business manager of the Summerland Kettle Valley Steam Railway (KVSR), who pleaded guilty to defrauding the non-profit society, has been ordered to pay back $74,000 and spend the next 18 months under house arrest.
Julia Beatrice Belmonte appeared in Penticton Provincial Court on Aug. 25 to hear her fate after pleading guilty to the charge of committing fraud over $5,000 in November 2024.
During her tenure as the KVSR's business manager, Belmonte used the society's account to make 84 personal purchases on Amazon, created a fake vendor email account to transfer funds to through what appeared to be legitimate transactions, kept cash that was meant to be deposited into the society's bank account, manipulated payroll to increase her salary and give herself extra holiday pay, and used the society's credit card to purchase a plane ticket for her then-boyfriend.
The total amount of fraud, as agreed by Crown and defense, added up to $74,171.64.
In addition to creating the fake vendor account to obscure some of the transactions, Belmonte was late with and did not provide all of the necessary financial data for the society's external bookkeeper, including not providing credit card statements for a year and a half.
It was after the delays in completing those documents that the society brought in another former business manager to assist, at which point the fraud was discovered, and Belmonte stopped showing up for work.
Many of the items she purchased were seized when police executed a search warrant of her West 麻豆精选 home in 2023.
Belmonte also dropped off a stand-up paddleboard to the society that she had purchased.
In addition to the myriad of ways in which she perpetuated the fraud and her attempts to cover it up, the fact that there was little reason for committing it in the first place was cited as a major aggravating factor.
"The Crown submits there really was no good reason for this," the Crown prosecutor said. "The motivation was essentially greed in my submission. It's not a case, for example, where there's a gambling addiction. I do note as well in the pre-sentence report, she states that she has no good reason."
Although the Crown had initially proposed a three-year probation period, the judge announced prior to proceedings beginning that he had concerns about the total length of reporting time suggested.
Crown agreed, and instead dropped the joint-submission down to a two-year conditional sentence order to be served in the community, and a 20-month probation period.
The first 18 months of the conditional sentence will be spent under house arrest. In addition to many of the usual probationary terms, the judge also put in place restrictions on her from seeking employment or volunteering in a way that would give her any financial authority.
Belmonte has until 2032 to pay the society back the $74,000.
