Two women facing charges for allegedly stealing funds from the Central Okanagan Hospice Assocation were in court Tuesday for a brief appearance and will return next year.
Susan Steen and Melanie Gray are charged with theft over $5,000 and fraud over $5,000 relating to missing money. Their next court appointment is in January.
READ MORE: FUNDS ALLEGEDLY STOLEN FROM COHA
Court documents indicate Steen, on Sept. 12, 2012, allegedly defrauded COHA of $71 by making a false claim for a cellphone expense. She is also accused of allegedly stealing upward of $109,000 from COHA between July 2012 and April 2016, by allegedly using the hospice’s credit card.
While Steen has not answered calls made to her, she hasn’t been inactive in the area.
“Susan has been volunteering with HOPE Okanagan since June 2017,” said Angie Lohr, with HOPE “Susan did not, at any time, handle any finances or decision making power for H.O.P.E. Okanagan. On Nov. 29, 2018 Susan stepped away from all volunteer positions in light of the charges that have been laid against her.”
Steen also faces two charges of fraud and another of theft from a 2016 incident in Nanaimo. She is former executive director of the Nanaimo Community Hospice Society.
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