The former chief financial officer of an Edmonton-area agri-business organization has been charged with misappropriating millions of dollars in corporate funds.
Patrick Stephen Bieleny, 52, was arrested last Thursday and charged with 12 counts of fraud over $5,000, Edmonton police said in a news release Wednesday.
The organization involved launched an internal audit in late 2015 after an employee noticed a suspicious expenditure, police said.
The audit discovered that millions of dollars had been misappropriated through transfers, non-business billings and other means.
About $2.45 million was defrauded from the organization between 2009 and 2015, police said.
Bieleny’s employment was terminated in April 2016.
Five months later, the fraudulent activity was reported to police and the EPS economic crimes section launched an investigation.