Carl Hager
Carl Hager
CAMPBELL’S BAY – Thanks to the vigilance of an employee in the accounting department at the MRC, irregularities in the MRC accounts were noticed last August. These irregularities occurred in a bank account under the responsibility of the law firm RPGL Avocats, a service provider to the MRC since 2006. The firm was mandated with the task of collecting fines owed for municipal bylaw violations. The employee alerted senior management who contacted the Sûreté du Québec and an investigation began.
The suspect in the case was arrested Wednesday, March 14th and appeared in court Thursday, March 15th. She is identified as 52 year old Colette Morrissette, an employee of the law firm. She is charged with embezzling over $170,000 from the MRC since January 2012. Morrissette is accused of falsifying bills,
counterfeiting documents and identity fraud. She was released from custody and must appear in court April 20th when the legal proceedings will begin.
RPGL Avocats has refunded the moneyin full.
MRC Director General Bernard Roy said, “We must be more vigilant. It’s a hard lesson we are learning along with RPGL Avocats with whom we have had a relationship of trust for 11 years.” The MRC is reviewing its accounting procedures along with the law firm, to prevent any risk of fraudulent behaviour in the future.
