Leah Bussieres was fired from her post as financial co-ordinator of the B.C. Association of Aboriginal Friendship Centres in 2007. She is accused of misappropriating funds from the organization. (CBC)

A non-profit agency in Victoria is facing criticism for keeping quiet about tens of thousands of dollars in taxpayer money allegedly misappropriated by one of its employees.

"I think public needs to be made aware this went on," said Greg Neufeld, an ex-husband of the employee who allegedly took the money.

Court records show the B.C. Association of Aboriginal Friendship Centres (BCAAFC) took legal action in 2008 to recover $186,732.26, allegedly taken by its former financial co-ordinator Leah Bussieres (also known as Leah Norman) over a period of three years.

Neufeld said his wife was fired in 2007, after funds were discovered missing by another employee. Neufeld had already become suspicious, he said, because Bussieres always seemed to have more money than her position should have paid.

Employee 'evasive' about income

"I had always lived in this sort of vagueness of what her income was," he said. "I would say to her, 'How much money do you make?' She was always a little evasive with me. I think she knew what I was getting at.

Greg Neufeld, the ex-husband of Leah Bussieres, wants taxpayers to know funds were allegedly misappropriated from the BCAAFC. (CBC)

"Whenever there were any big expenditures there was no stress or worry on her part," he added.

The BCAAFC is an umbrella organization, representing 23 urban aboriginal friendship centers in the province. This year, it received $7 million in government grants for various programs such as health promotion and educational and employment assistance for aboriginal youth.

"They are responsible for bringing in all of this money and then handing it out," said Neufeld. "They do great work."

BCAAFC president Grace Nielsen initially confirmed to CBC News that the misappropriation had occurred. The organization then refused to give any further information and declined to be interviewed.

'...They don't want to open Pandora's box.'—Greg Neufeld, ex-husband of fired employee

"My best guess is they don't want to open up Pandora's box," said Neufeld.

Neufeld said he decided to speak out about this now partly because, since he and Bussieres were married at the time, he is also on the hook for her debt.

Leah Bussieres didn't return messages requesting an interview.

The BCAAFC received $7 million in government grants in 2008. (CBC)

Unbeknownst to him, Neufeld said, his wife had issued herself two cheques each payday — one for the pay she was owed, plus an extra one, for the identical amount, without deductions. She would sign the cheques, he said, then hand them over to various board members, for the required second signature.

"She manually typed out every paycheque on an old typewriter. There was no electronic payroll. So, I think they had a lot of poor practices in place," he said.

Neufeld said he was sometimes on hand when board members signed piles of cheques, without looking closely at any of them.

Corporate credit card

"Those cheques were not being scrutinized close enough. She perhaps saw that as a weak point and capitalized on it," he said.

Neufeld said his wife and other employees also charged personal expenses to the corporate credit card, including several tickets to Rome for his wedding. Those debts were supposed to be paid back, he said, but he doesn't know if they were.

After Bussieres was fired in 2007, court documents state the BCAAFC came to an agreement with its now ex-employee "in consideration of … not taking immediate action against her."

The BCAAFC started legal action in 2008 to recover $186,732.26. (CBC)

They deal was that the BCAAFC would register a mortgage on her home, as security, and Bussieres would immediately pay the money back. Neufeld said the arrangement was to be kept confidential — and police would not be involved.

"It stayed internal — and I think that was wrong," he said. "Rumours might have gotten out as to what happened — but there was nothing formal ever really got out there. Apparently not all the board members were even fully aware that this had gone on.

"The appropriate ministries [awarding government grants] should have been made aware. Then, I think they should have been made aware of what corrective action the organization is taking to keep this from happening again," he added. "All the friendship centers should have known."

Court records indicate Bussieres did not pay the money back by Dec. 21, 2007 as agreed. The BCAAFC then took legal action that could have resulted in a forced sale of her home.

To avoid that, Neufeld said, Bussieres took out a bank mortgage, with her husband as co-signer. In April of 2008, seven months after the missing money was discovered, Neufeld said, his wife used the mortgage money to pay it back.

He said he also felt victimized, because the new mortgage was now partly his. The couple separated a few months later.

Not in financial statements

CBC News obtained audited BCAAFC's audited financial statements for the last several years. There is no reference to the missing money — or the fact it was recovered.

Lawyer Calvin Helin says agencies that serve the aboriginal community should be more accountable. (CBC)

"You can bury a lot in an audit," said aboriginal lawyer and author Calvin Helin, an outspoken advocate for making organizations that serve the aboriginal community more transparent and accountable.

"You don't have to be specific about what monies are being paid out for, and you can bury it under a general category," said Helin. "You know, if we are going to lift things up and move beyond banana republic status, we have to run things properly — and that means much more open accountability."

Although he was upset about what his wife had done, Neufeld said he was equally upset about how the situation was handled.

"I am a taxpayer. All of our money in one way or another ends up in these various organizations — so there needs to be transparency," said Neufeld.

"Respect the taxpayer enough to say, 'We screwed up. Here's how we fixed it, and we hope we still have your trust.'"