Former North Bay bookkeeper guilty of stealing $100Ks from employer to gamble at casino

It emerged that Sharon Elliot was taking several gambling trips to Casino Rama. It later emerged that she had a gambling problem that she supported by taking from her employer. (File)

The Superior Court of Justice was tasked recently with determining just how much a former bookkeeper stole when she worked for a North Bay business more than a decade ago.

Sharon Elliott worked as a bookkeeper for Steele Industrial Supplies Inc. from 2002 to 2012, when it was discovered that she had been stealing from her employer.

In 2015 she pled guilty to a fraud charge and paid $100,000 in restitution to the company. But officials at Steele insisted she stole much more than that, estimating it was at least $646,000.

The court decision said Elliot had been caught defrauding the company already, in 2007, when it emerged she was paying herself for more hours than she actually worked. The owner gave her another chance when she admitted what she had done and paid the money back.

The business grew rapidly in 2008 and 2009, Steele’s business grew considerably but the accountant reported Steele was not making any money.

An accountant was hired to investigate what was going on and discovered that Elliot was taking several gambling trips to Casino Rama. It later emerged that she had a gambling problem that she supported by taking from her employer.

When confronted, she confessed what she had done, but a dispute arose over how much she took. Elliot said it was $94,000 and that she agreed to pay $100,000.

Accounts hired by Steele estimated the amount to between $355,000 and $455,000. The judge in the case ordered a separate hearing where both sides could explain their math.

“Mrs. Elliott testified that she never destroyed any financial records and knows how much she took because, after she was charged criminally, she went through the records,” the court decision said.

“She testified that she agreed to pay Steele more than she stole ($100,000) by way of restitution as part of a plea bargain because it seemed reasonable given the breach of trust for which she was responsible.”

BANK ACCOUNTS AND CASINOS

Accountants hired by Steele said they estimated the amount by examining places where she would have placed the stolen money: bank accounts and casinos.

It estimated she had deposited $207,000 in bank accounts during the relevant time and that she spent $319,000 on slot machines and other games at the casino. When money they said was doubled counted is deducted, the amount totalled $455,470.

But another accounting firm, hired by Elliot, estimated the amounts using her Casino Rama VIP card. The card “kept track of the number of visits Mrs. Elliott made to the casino, the length of time she spent there, the amount of money she put through the slot machines, and her net loss.”

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Using that method, Elliot lost about $81,000 at Casino Rama. A second review commissioned by Elliot in 2021 using a different methodology concluded the amount she stole was between $101,000 and $248,000.

In a decision released Oct. 3 of this year, the judge in the case used evidence from the experts and his own calculations to come up with an estimate of $204,670.

After deducting the $100,000 that Elliot had already repaid, the judge ordered Elliot to pay Steele an additional $104,670, plus interest.

Read the decision here.