The District of Sechelt has started an action in small claims court seeking nearly $10,000 from former chief financial officer Victor Mema.
Mema left Sechelt for a post with the City of Nanaimo in 2015, and according to the court papers filed Sept. 15, it was after Mema left that “it came to the district’s attention that the defendant had charged a significant number of items to the district credit card without proper approval from his supervisor.”
The district is claiming the charges were personal and included flights and accommodation, cell phone charges, and cash advances. It also claims Mema did pay back $4,381.19 for two flights and a third “travel-related” charge and admitted to billing around $7,700 in personal items on the district credit card.
The court filing alleges Mema has failed to pay $9,7429.20 in “admitted and obviously personal unapproved charges” and it’s that amount plus service charges the district wants the court to order Mema to pay. The court has yet to hear the district’s claim.
Neither Mema nor the District of Sechelt offered any comment ahead of Coast Reporter’s deadline.
The small claims case is the second legal proceeding involving Mema and his former employer. In August, the B.C. Human Rights Tribunal dismissed a complaint filed against the district by Mema in January 2016 alleging discrimination in the workplace.
