Former manager pleads guilty to million dollar Ontario credit union fraud

The trial of a Belleville, ON woman charged in a million-dollar credit union theft was cut short on Wednesday, June 19 when the former manager changed her plea to guilty on two of three charges.

Cheryll Drumm pleaded guilty to fraud over $5,000 and money laundering, while a charge of theft over $5,000 was withdrawn, reports Quinte News.

Drumm had originally pleaded not guilty to all three charges, but changed her mind on day two of her trial, after speaking with her lawyer John Wonnacott that afternoon.

Evidence on the first day of the trial showed Drumm moved and manipulated funds through various accounts, while working at Bayshore Credit Union in Belleville, to benefit herself and others.

Two co-accused, Alan Lasher and George Misuraca have agreed to pay civil restitution in order to have their criminal charges dropped and court heard both are still involved in civil suits, which have had a major financial impact on them.

During the hearing, Wonnacott also noted that while Drumm did admit to taking close to $90,000 for herself over a four-year span, she received no benefit or kickback for helping to advance Lasher and Misuraca more than $800,000 and $500,000 respectively.

That spurred Justice Robert Scott, who took over from Justice Wolf Tausendfreund when the plea deal was struck, to ask if Wonnacott “saw his client as a modern-day Robin Hood”.