Calgary pair accused of bilking Bowness non-profit of more than $66,000

CTV News

6 hours ago

Two Calgary men face fraud charges, accused of embezzling more than $66,000 from a Bowness non-profit.
Two Calgary men face fraud charges, accused of embezzling more than $66,000 from a Bowness non-profit.
One has a history that includes manslaughter in B.C.
According to police, Bowness Ratepayers Scout and Guide Hall Association directors were approached by two men in 2022 about rebranding and handing off day-to-day operations.
The hall became BowCommon, with events hosted under Discover Bowness.
Police say they were contacted in April 2024, after 'a significant amount of missing funds' was discovered.
Police say investigation placed the missing amount at more than $66,000.
It's believed this was done 'by hosting events using organization funds without paying attributed fees, falsifying documents to obtain financial control and creating false receipts for services never rendered, which were then sent to fabricated email addresses and deposited into their personal bank accounts.'
'It's over $66,000 of embezzlement, (and) in a small community association that's struggling to keep a community hall going, supporting the community, this could be a really big fraud and it could have a huge financial impact—a potentially devastating impact,' said Insp. Keith Hurley, commander for District 2.
Tuesday, police arrested a pair of suspects:
Nathan Michael Mizera, 41; and
Joshua Tyler Bredo, 40.
Two Calgary men face fraud charges, accused of embezzling more than $66,000 from a Bowness non-profit.
Two Calgary men face fraud charges, accused of embezzling more than $66,000 from a Bowness non-profit.
Both are charged with fraud over $5,000 and both are scheduled to appear in court on Aug. 6.
Hurley said given the victimization of a community group, police felt there was 'a strong public interest in knowing the charges that have been laid.'
There is no expectation of additional suspects identified, additional charges laid or additional missing monies discovered.
On Wednesday, shortly after police issued their statement, Mizera and Bredo issued a joint statement of their own.
They denied any wrongdoing and accused a pair of police officers of targeting them and of corruption.
'The allegations against us are entirely false and have no credible evidentiary foundation,' the statement read.
Hurley said an investigation like this 'isn't just (built on) a singular source of information.'
'People who are involved with this spent quite a bit of time on it and we're very confident in the charges we've laid,' he said.
Gord Barge, president of the Bowness Ratepayers Scout and Guide Hall Association, told CTV News Calgary on Wednesday he is 'happy to see charges are finally being laid.'
'The Executive of the hall has been dealing very closely with Calgary Police Service since Bredo and Mizera were removed from the hall by CPS at the end of April 2024,' he said.
'It was hard to ignore social media posts from them but we were told by the detectives that it was in our best interest to not engage with them in any way until we are in court.'
According to Mizera's LinkedIn page, he's intending to run for Calgary Board of Education trustee.
CTV News Calgary has learned Bredo was sentenced in June 2017 for the August 2011 manslaughter of a Revelstoke man in Victoria, following a guilty plea.
Taking time served into consideration, Bredo was released in November 2018.