U of L theft case stalled in court proceedings

By Delon Shurtz - Lethbridge Herald on April 13, 2022.

LETHBRIDGE HERALDdshurtz@lethbridgeherald.com

Scheduling a trial for a Lethbridge woman accused of stealing more than half a million dollars from the University of Lethbridge continues to be delayed while her case makes its way through various court proceedings.
Trial dates for Donna Court were expected to be set last month, but scheduling of the trial was adjourned while the Crown and defence continued to discuss the case.
The matter was back in Lethbridge Court of Queen’s Bench this week, where the setting of trial dates were adjourned once again to allow time for the appointment of a case management judge. The judge typically conducts a case management hearing in which the parties discuss trial matters, which may include identifying witnesses, admitting certain evidence, agreeing to specific facts and resolving various other issues, all of which are aimed at ensuring a fair and efficient trial.
Court, 58, pleaded not guilty Dec. 7 of last year to charges of fraud over $5,000, theft over $5,000 and possession of stolen property over $5,000. The accused also elected to be tried by a Court of Queen’s Bench judge.
Court, a former accounting clerk at the University of Lethbridge, was charged last April 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 records had been falsified to 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.”

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