The former manager of the Kettle Valley Steam Railway will make an appearance at the Penticton courthouse next Thursday on charges of stealing funds from the popular Summerland tourist attraction.
Julia Beatrice Belmonte, who was born in 1997, was charged in March with one count of theft over $5,000 and one count of fraud over $5,000.
The court document shows she is scheduled to make an appearance on Oct. 31 where a judicial case manager will set a date for her next appearance.
As reported on Sept. 2, 2023 in The Herald, the KVR society香蕉视频直播檚 former business manager was accused in court documents of stealing upwards of $50,000 over a one-year period that ended in November 2022.
Approximately $13,000 of that was allegedly spent on Amazon purchases that were made using the society香蕉视频直播檚 credit card, but shipped to the woman香蕉视频直播檚 home in West Kelowna. Some of the goods allegedly purchased included a mattress, ski equipment, jewelry and underwear.
The rest of the money was allegedly taken though e-transfers for unapproved overtime pay and an unauthorized wage hike, plus cash from operations that never found its way into the bank.
Details of the investigation were contained in an application for a search warrant filed by Summerland RCMP Const. Mattison Sinnett.
According to court documents, the woman was hired by the Kettle Valley Steam Railway in October 2021 and agreed to a salary of $60,000 per year.
Her alleged theft went undetected until December 2022, when someone went to police shortly after she delivered outstanding banking information to the society and then disappeared.
香蕉视频直播淭he woman (Belmonte) failed to show up for her next shift at the company on Dec. 15, 2022, after she had turned in the deposit slip books to her employer,香蕉视频直播� wrote Const. Sinnett in his documentation to the court. 香蕉视频直播淪he has not returned to work or been heard of since.香蕉视频直播�
Police allegedly linked the woman to the e-transfer thefts via personal bank documents that were obtained through a separate warrant.
The search of Belmonte香蕉视频直播檚 home in West Kelowna turned up one of the hundreds of items she香蕉视频直播檚 alleged to have ordered from Amazon, according to a report from the March 9, 2023 police raid.
Sinnett香蕉视频直播檚 warrant application stated the woman is being investigated for fraud, theft and possession of property obtained by crime.
Using a restored 1912 locomotive, the Kettle Valley Steam Railway runs seasonally on an abandoned line in rural Summerland.
Passengers pay a fee to go for a 90-minute ride that takes them out and back across a large wood trestle high above the Trout Creek canyon.
Select trips receive a visit from the Garnet Valley Gang, a separate group of locals who stage Old West-style train robberies to the delight of passengers.
There also Christmas-themed runs.
None of Belmonte香蕉视频直播檚 accusations have been proven in court.
