Miramichi SPCA struggling to make ends meet after theft by former employee

A former employee of the Miramichi SPCA was sentenced to six months in jail and 18 months probation for stealing just shy of $20,000 from the non-profit organization.

On Tuesday, Miramichi Police Force Deputy Chief Brian Cummings confirmed 29-year-old Hailey Storey was found guilty of the theft.

Though Storey is subject to a restitution order, the president of the SPCA’s board of directors isn’t hopeful they will get that money back from her.

“In order to get that back…I don’t know how this person would ever repay it again,” Tosha Stewart said in an interview on Tuesday, adding they wouldn’t be reimbursed by the bank because it was an internal theft.

They first alerted their bank of financial irregularities in November 2020.

The investigation was then turned over to the Miramichi Police Force, which traced an email account receiving fraudulent e-transfers back to Storey. Police asked the SPCA not to terminate Storey or discipline her while the investigation was ongoing.

This meant staff had to work with her for months pretending nothing was wrong.

“That was a five-month span that we had to continue working with the employee everyday. Not all of the staff were aware of what was going on. Only certain board members were aware of what was going on.” she said adding the incident had taken an emotional toll on all the staff.

Storey was arrested in March 2021 and sentenced on Jan. 11.

Acting executive director Breanna McMahon described the experience as being extremely difficult.

“It was hard. It was just a head-shaker, because we would hear her talk about all the things that she bought knowing deep down it came from money people donated and staff had taken time off their personal days for fundraising. It was just heartbreaking,” she said.

She said with the money the organization has currently, they only have enough to keep the doors open for another three and a half months.

Between food costs, vet bills and other expenses, it costs them roughly $10,000 to $12,000 a month to run the operation.

Their financial issues are compounded by the pandemic hampering their usual fundraising efforts.

“One of our big fundraisers, it was our pet pictures that we usually do at Christmas time. That was taken away last year and this year by COVID … just a lot of things we can’t do anymore,” Stewart said.

They were originally planning on using the $20,000 to replace their heating system in order to be able to accept dogs at their facilities.

Despite the challenges, McMahon is hopeful they will be able to raise the money needed.

“Just the messages and the phone calls just to tell us, ‘Proud of you for sticking through it,’ she said.

“It’s nice to hear people still appreciate us and support us and stand by us.”