Former head of Central Okanagan Hospice Association gets 8 months in prison for fraud

KELOWNA – The former boss of the Central Okanagan Hospice Association has pleaded guilty to fraud, resulting in an eight-month prison sentence and a hefty fine.

Susan Steen was sentenced in a Vancouver courtroom July 31 to eight months in prison, along with a DNA order. She was also ordered to pay restitution of $106,005.62.

Court documents indicate Steen, on Sept. 12, 2012, allegedly defrauded the hospice association of $71 by making a false claim for a cellphone expense. She is also accused of stealing upwards of $109,000 from the association between July 2012 and April 2016, by using the hospice’s credit card.

For committing the same crime at the Nanaimo Community Hospice Association, Steen recently completed a four-month jail sentence and was ordered to pay back $17,000.

Steen has been very open about her longstanding gambling addiction and how it affected her actions.

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