Former Finance Director of the Abbotsford Police Department being investigated for fraud

The Ex Finance Director of the Abbotsford Police Board has been ordered by the courts to pay back more than $300,000 that was stolen over a span of a decade. The civil court ruling against Shelley Dallas Mickens on Sept. 15 in B.C. Supreme Court in Vancouver. The ruling does not convict her of any crime, and is separate from any criminal charges and related decisions that could arise in the future.

Mickens was ordered to pay a total of $312,417, as well as the cost for Abbotsford's judicial system of $15,000. According to the court ruling Mickens cannot be released from the order by declaring bankruptcy and that the city has a “constructive trust” over any of her assets – including her residence on George Ferguson Way – acquired by fraudulent funds.

The police board and the City of Abbotsford filed a notice of civil claim against Mickens on Feb. 22 of this year, initially saying she had stolen $192,000. That amount was later changed to more than $312,000 after further errors were found in police board accounting records. Court records indicate that Mickens, who was in the role of Finance Director from April 1999 to June 2016, got the funds by preparing petty cash vouchers that contained “false and misleading information,” making misleading entries in the accounting record-keeping system and under-reporting cash payments.

A total of 59 fraudulent transactions were discovered. The first one, for $700, took place in 2006, but the remainder all occurred from 2009 to 2016. Most were in amounts of $2,000, $3,000 or $4,000, but the largest – $7,500 – occurred on Jan. 29, 2016. Many were done just days apart and there were long periods – all of 2011, 2013 and 2014 – where no theft occurred. According to the APD, the investigation is still ongoing.