New Edinburgh's Saint Luke Lutheran Church

alleges former treasurer Barton Burron embezzled

$600,000
Don Butler, Ottawa Citizen
More from Don Butler, Ottawa Citizen
Published on: May 9, 2014 | Last Updated: May 20, 2014 3:11 AM EST

Officials at a century-old Lutheran church in New Edinburgh are alleging that a retired public servant who served as its treasurer for 30
years embezzled more than $600,000 from church bank accounts.

In a statement of claim filed April 23 with the Ontario Superior Court of Justice, Saint Luke Lutheran Church alleges that Barton Burron
— who once worked for the Auditor General of Canada and the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions — took the money
from church chequing and savings accounts between June 2009 and September 2013.

None of the church’s claims has been proven in court. Burron has not yet filed a statement of defence, and neither he nor his lawyer, Tom
Curran, responded to messages from the Citizen.

David Debenham, the church’s lawyer, said Burron filed a notice of intent to defend Friday.

It’s too soon to say if the case will proceed to court, Debenham said. “We really want to hear (Burron’s) explanation. We haven’t got his
side of the story yet.”

The church’s statement of claim alleges that Burron “embezzled over $600,0000 from (the church) and used those embezzled proceeds to
buy real and personal property, either directly, or indirectly by paying off mortgages or charges against the said real and personal
property.”

It alleges that Burron took $289,000 from the church’s chequing account and funnelled it to his numbered company “for his own personal
purposes.”

He also took $318,725 from the church’s savings account, the statement alleges, which was used to pay another numbered company for
Burron’s “own personal reasons presently unknown to (the church).”

The “embezzled funds” were used to purchase, improve or pay off mortgages on a property at 13 Montcalm St. in Ottawa owned by
Burron and his numbered company, the church alleges in the statement of claim.

The church is seeking a declaration from the court that it is the “beneficial owner” of Burron’s interest in the 13 Montcalm St. property, or
alternatively is entitled to an “equitable charge” or lien over the property.

The document alleges that the “conversion” of the church’s funds was “deceitfully misrepresented” by Burron as loans and other
arrangements, “thus perpetrating a fraudulent misrepresentation as well as misappropriation while acting in a fiduciary duty.”

Burron and his company were “unjustly enriched” by money they received from the church as a result of the alleged breach of his
fiduciary duty, “for which they are required to make restitution,” the statement of claim maintains.

According to the statement of claim, Burron has been a chartered accountant for more than 30 years. He worked in that capacity for the
Auditor General of Canada for about two decades before becoming an internal auditor at the Office of the Superintendent of Financial
Institutions.

Burron retired in 2010, a spokesman for the Office of the Superintendent said Friday, but is temporarily working there again on a short-
term contract.

The church, founded in 1915, has a congregation of about 150 families and is served by a full-time pastor, Rev. Bryan King. Attempts to
reach King on Friday were unsuccessful.
In its statement of claim, the church says it appointed Burron as its treasurer, de facto bookkeeper, accountant and chief financial officer
based on his job credentials, “trusting that he would provide honest, altruistic and careful advice” on how the church’s finance and
accounting functions should operate.

Over a 30-year period, Burron was responsible for managing the church’s financial activities. He was the sole signatory on the church’s
chequing and investment accounts, reconciled bank statements to the church ledger, and maintained records of income, revenue, receipts,
expenses, disbursements. assets and liabilities, the church document says.

“Bart was in a key position of trust and confidence with (the church),” says the statement of claim, adding that his employment “ended
earlier in 2014.”

The statement of claim alleges that Burron “maintained a system of benign neglect that allowed his access to all of (the church’s) financial
records, cheques and the like so he could use (the church’s) financial assets as his own.” At some point, the statement of claim alleges,
Burron “began to take advantage of his position of trust and confidence.”

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Treasurer accused of embezzling church funds says he

acted in good faith
Chris Cobb, Ottawa Citizen
More from Chris Cobb, Ottawa Citizen
Published on: June 12, 2014 | Last Updated: June 13, 2014 8:22 AM EST

The former treasurer of the century-old St. Luke Lutheran Church in New Edinburgh denies he embezzled more than $600,000 in church
funds and claims he invested the money in a property development deal that went sour.

In a statement of defence filed with the Ontario Superior Court, retired public servant Barton (Bart) Burron claims that he had the church’s
best interests at heart but was hoodwinked by a big-talking business partner.

The Church claims that Burron embezzled the money and used at least some of it to pay off, or down, the mortgage on his own home.

St. Luke’s, which says the money represented the bulk of its assets, has moved to have all of Burron’s bank accounts frozen.

Burron, an accountant and former employee of the Auditor General of Canada’s office, was church treasurer for about 30 years.

In his defence, Burron says that he was “instructed and authorized” to make investment decisions for St. Luke’s but that church governors
failed to give him any policies, guidelines, limitations or restrictions related to how he invested the money.

Burron says he bought a development property on Springhurst Road in Ottawa with his own money and a personal bank loan but admits
he had no experience in property development and that his only other effort at business was a failed fast-food franchise.

The church treasurer says he brought in design and building professionals and paid them with his own money and cash from two partners
— neither of them a church member.

As the “strong potential for the development became more apparent” and “all indications were that the project would be highly profitable”
Burron says, he began moving church funds into the project.

“The decision was made in the best interests of the plaintiff (the church),” says the defence statement.

Burron, who initially moved the money into his own personal account, says all “investments” were properly recorded in the church
financial records.

According to Burron, a third partner came on the scene claiming to have contacts with a foreign embassy.
Barron says the new partner persuaded him to expand the development project to attract the foreign diplomats who were searching for a
new location for their embassy. He doesn’t name the country.

The new partner, experienced in real estate development, persuaded him that while more expensive, the new project would be
significantly more profitable.

Burron says he moved the money into an account controlled by the developer who then arranged extra financing through Westboro
Mortgage Investment Corp.

Throughout 2013, says the defence statement, the partner persuaded Burron that the project was proceeding as planned but that toward the
end of the year the partner stopped returning the treasurer’s phone calls or responding to emails.

The property deal had collapsed, says Burron, and Westboro, wanting to recoup its money, sold the Springhurst property by power of sale.

At that point, Burron says, he immediately resigned as church treasurer and handed back their books, which he kept at his home.

The church, apparently skeptical of the “unscrupulous developer” story, has an entirely different version of events and claims that Burron
took the money and labelled each advance a “loan or investment” and never disclosed that he was paying it into his own account.

“Now that Bart has lost the money,” says the church in its counter to Burron, “he chooses to call it an ‘investment’ in order to avoid
repaying the money, which is part and parcel of his fraud.

“Bart created an atmosphere of trust and confidence while, at the same time, he embezzled the bulk of the plaintiff’s assets and put them
in his own name without proper disclosure or consent.”

The church says Burron continued to take money after the alleged property deal fell apart and also claims that he used the St. Luke’s debit
card to buy groceries, LCBO products and lunches without permission and “completely beyond what Bart was entitled to charge to the
plaintiff.

“The plaintiff trusted our treasurer as he was a professional with high credentials and an impressive work history. As a chartered
accountant, the plaintiff understood Bart would comply with his professional code of ethics.”

The “embezzled funds” were used to purchase, improve or pay off mortgages on a property at 13 Montcalm St. in Ottawa owned by
Burron and his numbered company, the church alleges in its statement of claim.

The case is scheduled to be heard in court later this month.