Defence finally receives disclosure in theft case against U of L employee

By Delon Shurtz on September 29, 2021.

LETHBRIDGE HERALDdshurtz@lethbridgeherald.com

After numerous court adjournments and months of waiting, the lawyer for a Lethbridge woman accused of stealing money from the University of Lethbridge has finally received disclosure on the case.
Calgary lawyer Rabie Ahmed said Tuesday in Lethbridge provincial court he has received disclosure from Specialized Prosecutions in Calgary, after repeatedly requesting the information during numerous previous hearings.
During a court hearing earlier this month, Ahmed said the Crown had promised on earlier occasions that disclosure was “forthcoming,” yet it never arrived.
Following Tuesday’s brief hearing, the matter was adjourned to Oct. 19 to allow Ahmed time to review the disclosure with his client.
“It looks like it’s quite extensive,” Ahmed told the judge.
Court, a former accounting clerk at the U of L, was charged in April with fraud over $5,000, theft over $5,000 and possession of stolen property over $5,000, following a police investigation that began in 2018.
The U of L contacted police after detecting a potential fraud through its internal processes, and investigators with the economic crimes unit of the Lethbridge Police Service determined an employee had used her position at the university to falsify records and conceal the theft of more than $500,000.
“In March 2018, University of Lethbridge employees discovered a fraud perpetrated by a fellow employee,” the university said in a statement following Court’s arrest.
The statement said an employee with more than 30 years of experience at the University, “abused her detailed knowledge of the financial systems of the U of L and falsified records to conceal the estimated theft of $580,000.”
Court, 57, was fired after the fraud and theft were discovered.

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