Former Co-op pharmacists enter guilty pleas to taking secret commissions
By Peggy Revell on April 23, 2018.
prevell@medicinehatnews.com @MHNprevell Two former Co-op pharmacists pled guilty to taking secret commissions Monday to the value of just over $300,000. Evan King and Kathryn Kaiser were each given an 18-month conditional sentence order, with house arrest for the first six months, followed by curfew. Monday was originally set to be the start of a multi-day trial on charges of fraud and theft over $5,000 that both faced. Instead, guilty pleas to the criminal charge of taking secret commissions were entered — with Judge Ted Fisher accepting joint sentencing submissions from Crown and defence, saying he doesn’t expect to see either King or Kaiser before the courts again. According to the agreed statements of facts, King and Kaiser were co-managers of the Co-op pharmacy in Northlands. As is common in the industry, pharmaceutical companies often provide incentives or gifts to pharmacies that do business with them. Under Co-op policy, incentives received are Co-op property. From 2010 to 2015, both Kaiser and King accepted incentives from multiple pharmaceutical companies — mainly in the form of gift cards and travel expenditures and didn’t inform the Co-op of this. King’s defence counsel presented a cheque of $100,000 to the Co-op Monday, while a restitution order for $43,995.15 was also signed by the judge. The amount Kaiser personally benefited from amount of $177,670. She is required to pay back $200 per month for the first 15 months of her sentence, with a restitution order issued for the final amount. The sentences are lower than normal, said the Crown, in part due to “significant challenges” with document evidence and getting that before the courts. The sentence is still within the range for the charge — which can range from fines to five years imprisonment. Counsel for King said that his 47-year-old client has not gone back to work as a pharmacist, instead returning to work on his family farm in Saskatchewan. The system of giving incentives was already in place by the companies and it was something King unfortunately stepped into, said counsel Rob Robbenhaar, and he didn’t consider the legality of it. King is now being audited by Revenue Canada. Kaiser has been a pharmacist for 42 years, said defence counsel Sara Lewans, with her career choice being about helping people, not salary. Kaiser is still employed as a pharmacist and working full time. Taking the incentives seemed to be common practice at the time, said Lewans, and the one person Kaiser asked said it was fine. “If she could go back turn back time, she would ask more questions and look further,” said Lewans, saying Kaiser accepts she was willfully blind, and obligated to look further into it. Both King and Kaiser have no prior criminal record. Both have been disciplined by the Alberta College of Pharmacists through temporary suspensions, a $5,000 fine, requirement to pay the $15,000 for the investigation, and a requirement to disclose for three years their record to any pharmacy they’re hired by. The college determined that the public was not at risk by the activity. As part of the sentence, both are required to complete 50 hours of community work within the first nine months. Another former Co-op pharmacist, Robert Stadnyk, also pled guilty in March to taking secret commissions to the value of more than $730,000 over a five year period. He was sentenced two years less a day, with his first 18 months to be served as house arrest and the remaining time served under curfew. He is also required to make restitution. 17-16
