Arlene Marie Irving was a payroll clerk for the non-profit organization and overpaid herself, court heard Tuesday.
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Arlene Marie Irving has pleaded guilty to one count of fraud, related to her role as a payroll and benefits clerk for Regina’s Mobile Crisis Services.
She was 61 years old when she was criminally charged in January of 2022. By that time she’d already been fired by the non-profit organization, which provides social and health crisis interventions and operates 24-hours a day, seven days a week.
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The count to which she pleaded guilty in Regina provincial court Tuesday stated that between Jan. 1, 2016 and Jan. 31, 2021, “by deceit, falsehood or other fraudulent means,” she defrauded Mobile Crisis Services of $139,616.82.
A second charge of theft indicated she’d stolen the same amount, though the Crown indicated its intention to stay that charge at the conclusion of the matter in court.
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During Tuesday’s proceeding, prosecutor Travis Avery outlined the facts of the case in support of the plea.
He stated how Irving held her position with the non-profit organization at the relevant time and how she was responsible for her own payroll information, as well as that of others.
In 2021, Mobile Crisis Services was transitioning to an electronic payroll system, Avery said.
“It was discovered that Ms. Irving had been using her position to overpay herself.”
The prosecutor said Irving submitted and processed time cards for unauthorized “and/or” unworked overtime hours, changed the pay rate in the payroll system to a higher amount and claimed a “shift differential” meant to be paid to crisis workers covering the night shift.
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Avery said there were also “interesting things” going on with advances in pay, noting for Judge Doug Kovatch that there was a “potential” that advances had been given that were not deducted from Irving’s pay.
A forensic audit was conducted and confirmed that Irving had been overpaid, and also confirmed that Irving’s work computers were not used during the periods in which overtime was paid and for which a shift differential was claimed, the prosecutor said.
According to the facts read by Avery, a comparison between Irving’s legitimate pay and what she was actually paid was conducted, resulting in a calculation that she was overpaid by $139,616.82.
“None of the overpayment has been returned to date.”
When asked whether Irving accepted the facts, defence lawyer Scott Hopley stated he’d gone over them with her and had instructions to accept the facts and enter the plea.
However, he said that when information is collected from Irving for the pre-sentence report ordered by the judge, he anticipates she will describe “compelling personal circumstances,” and that “she worked hard at her job.”
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“She worked, at times, overtime. Whether it got out of control, at times, and she was paying herself too much money, I think she acknowledges.”
He said Irving agrees she was not following policies and requirements to get approval for the overtime and she “understands the basis for the guilty plea.”
But he added that “she would’ve been paying tax at a high tax rate on that and over many years it’s not as much money as it seems at first blush.”
It is anticipated that lawyers will argue about an appropriate sentence for Irving in late November.
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