Ex-CAO admits to stealing over $500K from Manitoba municipality, then faking cyberattack

A former chief administrative officer has admitted to stealing more than half a million dollars from a western Manitoba municipality's bank account, then trying to cover it up by fabricating a story about a cyberattack and altering documents.

Amber Fisher, 41, stood in the middle of a Winnipeg courtroom and pleaded guilty to theft over $5,000 on Friday afternoon.

In 2022, she was fired as chief administrative officer for the Municipality of Gilbert Plains, about 350 kilometres northwest of Winnipeg. A forensic accounting report found she had transferred about $532,000 of the municipality's money to her bank account while in office.

Fisher has paid back nearly $17,000, court heard Friday.

Her guilty plea included an admission that she lied to her colleagues about the misappropriated money once it was discovered, then faked a cyberattack to cover her tracks and altered documents in an attempt to clear herself of any wrongdoing.

Two other charges — fraud over $5,000 and knowingly using proceeds of crime — were stayed.

Fisher started to work for Gilbert Plains in 2018 and was promoted to chief administrative officer in April 2020, court documents say.

The municipality sued Fisher in 2023, accusing her of faking a cyberattack in an attempt to cover her tracks. Fisher didn't submit a statement of defence and a default judgment ruled in the municipality's favour.

The default judgment ordered Fisher to pay $525,000, with an annual interest rate of five per cent.

A Manitoba court ordered the seizure of her wages last year.

Sentencing hearings for Fisher have been scheduled in Dauphin provincial court next May.