For the past nine decades, the Bowness Ratepayers Scout and Guide Hall Association has been a constant in the northwest Calgary community.
“A ratepayer is anyone who pays taxes in their community,” explains association president, Gord Barge.
“This hall belongs to the people.”
Barge has given his time to the association for more than half of his 35 years living in Bowness — a true labour of love.
But over the past several years, Barge says the association has been thrown into turmoil, following fraud allegations surrounding two men — Nathan Mizera and Joshua Bredo.
Calgary police charged the pair with fraud over $5,000 earlier this week, concluding a year-long investigation first brought to their attention in the spring of 2024 by board members.
Barge says the pair befriended the association’s former president in 2022, expressing energy and passion towards bringing the longstanding group to new heights.
“(They’re) kind of that sweet talker,” Barge says, describing Mizera. “They could really talk themselves out of a corner.”
Barge and others were struck by their community spirit in the months following their introduction.
But that optimism quickly turned to doubt. The hall was hosting lots of events — but the building itself had fallen into disrepair.
He recalls the day he asked them where the money had been going.
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“I was helping them with an event … Nathan was standing beside me. I said, ‘Nathan, I don’t want to keep harping on this, but how do you guys afford all these things you’re doing… do you get grants or something?’ He said, ‘Yeah, something like that.’”
Calgary police say the truth was rooted in criminal behaviour — embezzling the money owed to the association by falsifying documents to obtain financial control and creating false receipts for services never rendered, which were then sent to fake email addresses and deposited into their personal bank accounts.
Police allege the fraud totalled more than $66,000.
“(For) any sort of non-profit, any financial impact will be big for them,” said Insp. Keith Hurley of the Calgary Police Service.
“We don’t like to see this type of thing — where people are preying on vulnerable people. (Mizera and Bredo) took advantage of their generosity.”
In a joint statement issued following the charges, Mizera and Bredo say the allegations against them are entirely false, adding they were charged based on unverified, fabricated materials.
Both say they’ve filed legal action against Calgary police, alleging corruption and suggesting the misuse of funds predates their employment.
“There’s a court process that’ll see that through — they’ll have their day in court and have an opportunity to face the charges and speak their mind about the charges,” Hurley responded.
Experts in the non-profit sector say groups like this can be vulnerable.
“Organizations such as this probably just have board members overseeing things,” explained Angie Gelinas, president & CEO of the non-profit Chamber.
“If they have paid staff they’re likely part-time. They don’t have the policies in place some of the larger nonprofits (might have).
“If someone in your organization is determined to conduct fraud, it really doesn’t matter how many policies and barriers you have — they will likely be successful.”
But Gelinas says every non-profit should explore the resources available that will leave themselves most protected.
“The more policies and barriers you have, the greater the likelihood they will get caught.”
Gelinas says non-profits should have spending over a certain amount approved by the board — and the person spending money should be different from the one tasked with accounting for it all.
Mizera and Bredo will appear in a Calgary courtroom on Aug. 6.
It’s been little more than a year since the pair were removed from the property, and Barge says things are starting to look up again. The association has hired a new manager and events are starting to come back.
“Our phone is ringing all day long. It never used to ring before,” he says.
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Calgary non-profit picking up the pieces following embezzlement investigation
