By james art A Manitoba court has ordered the wages of a former Gilbert Plains chief administrative officer to be garnished after the western Manitoba municipality sued her, accusing her of stealing more than half a million dollars, then faking a cyberattack to cover her tracks.
A notice of lien for nearly $550,000 was issued to former Gilbert Plains CAO Amber Fisher and her employer on Sept. 27 by the Manitoba Deputy Clerk of the Crown, court documents show.
Fisher’s wage garnishment comes after a default judgment was entered against her because she did not file any defense in the civil suit brought by the municipality of Gilbert Plains.
A forensic accounting and financial investigation report by MNP, which was completed in November 2022, said Fisher transferred about $532,000 of township money into her bank account while she was CAO, the lawsuit said. filed against Fisher of Gilbert Plains in 2023.
Fisher, who started working for Gilbert Plains in 2018 as a senior administrative officer and was promoted to chief administrative officer in April 2020, was fired after the report was completed, the lawsuit says.
She reimbursed the township about $17,000, the suit says. The garnishment ordered last month is about $515,000 plus interest and court costs.
Fisher was served with the Gilbert Plains lawsuit shortly after it was filed, but did not file a written defense, prompting the deputy secretary to order the unsatisfactory judgment in favor of the municipality in November 2023.
Although the civil suit is in favor of the municipality, Gilbert Plains Reeve Jim Mancher said the municipality is still waiting to hear the results of the Manitoba RCMP investigation into the missing funds.
“I think most people are anxious for the results of the investigation to be made public, and we hope that will happen soon,” Mancher told CBC News on Tuesday.
The default judgment orders Fisher to pay $525,000 with five percent annual interest.
However, recent court documents show that Fisher had made no further payments to the municipality as of September 27.
Fisher also failed to appear at the June 2024 court date to provide documents related to her finances, property and why she did not pay money. She was served with an appearance notice saying she risked being charged with contempt of court if she didn’t appear.
Gilbert Plains, which is about 275 kilometers northwest of Winnipeg, received $400,000 through an insurance claim and they hope to recover more money through a wage garnishment on Fisher, Mancher said.
“I couldn’t even speculate on how much we might get in the near future, but it might take a while.”
Fisher did not respond to CBC’s requests for comment prior to publication.
The township said in its lawsuit that Fisher breached her contract through “criminal, fraudulent and illegal conduct,” alleging she made 33 transfers totaling about $515,000 from the township’s bank account to her own since September 2020 . until July 2021.
Gilbert Plains also accused Fisher of falsifying bank statements to hide the transfers, giving advisers illegitimate reports that cleared her of fraud and fabricating a story that she was the victim of a cyber attack.
The MNP report also said Fisher paid herself for about 280 hours of overtime in April and May 2020, adding up to about $15,000 in gross earnings, the lawsuit said.
Manitoba RCMP spokeswoman Tara Seale told CBC News on Monday that no charges have been laid against Fisher, but she would not confirm or deny that charges would be laid in the future.
The allegations against Fisher helped lead to changes in the rules of a professional association of senior civil servants.
Manitoba’s municipal administrators introduced a new code of conduct in April, partly in response to the allegations against Fisher, but also after former Winnipeg CEO Phil Sheagle accepted more than $300,000 in bribes while in office, president Nicole Cichotta said.
The new code includes a formal grievance process and outlines expectations for public officials to ensure they uphold high ethical and professional standards, Cichotta said.
Work is also underway on a new program for professional accreditation.
She says incidents of theft can damage the community’s trust in local government.
“Our changes cannot completely prevent these problems from occurring, but they will ensure that our members are held more accountable to standards and ethical behaviour.”
Manchur said Gilbert Plains hired a new CAO and assistant CAO after Fisher was fired, and the municipality is running smoothly.
The municipality has also introduced serious financial measures to prevent theft, he said.
“Our audits are up to date, our bank records are up to date, everything is up to date and so … I am absolutely confident that this will never happen again.”