A woman from Kleefeld has been sentenced following years of defrauding while a committee member for the Kleefeld Recreation Association (KRA).

Nicole Rempel received a six-month conditional sentence order as well as 12 months of supervised probation for committing wrongful acts from about 2011 to 2018.

A conditional sentence is a jail sentence, however, the offender does not serve the sentence inside a jail. Rather, the sentence is served in strict conditions, often referred to as house arrest. Probation is a method where convicted offenders are under supervision in the community, after serving a period of imprisonment.

On February 1st, 2019, St. Pierre RCMP was contacted by officials from the Rural Municipality of Hanover regarding the alleged misappropriation of funds from the KRA.

Officials say that during the course of a regularly scheduled annual audit, they identified a number of suspicious transactions from within the KRA. This led to a commission of a Forensic Financial Review which, when completed, identified a misappropriation of funds valued at over $100,000.

Later that year, Hanover settled an insurance claim for $112,029 for losses and expenses as a result of the forensic audit of the former KRA. Ten per cent of that total went to Hanover to cover its share of the auditing costs. The remaining amount went to the KRA. At the time, Kleefeld area Councillor Darrin Warkentin said the more than $100,000 would allow the Association to tackle some projects that benefit young families at the park.

In the fall of 2020, a judgment of $235,514.36 came down against Rempel, her husband Chris and their company Guardian Property Services in the lawsuit involving the Kleefeld Recreation Association vs Nicole Rempel. Over the years, Rempel held various titles with the KRA, including President, Secretary and Treasurer.

Then, in early 2021, Rempel was formally charged. Charges included fraud over $5000 as well as using a forged document. She was served a Summons to appear in St. Pierre Provincial court on March 23, 2021.

Rempel plead guilty to forgery charges and was handed her sentence this week. Charges for fraud over $5,000 were stayed. 

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