RCMP have issued a Canada-wide search warrant for a former employee of the Whitecap Dakota First Nation after a significant amount of money went missing from the band’s accounting department.
Hugo Gallegos, 40, has been charged with theft over 5,000 dollars and Whitecap Dakota confirms the amount missing is at least one million dollars.
Chief Darcy Bear says the band is outraged someone who was once a trusted employee would do something like this.
“But for an individual like that, they don’t care, they can walk away and it doesn’t impact their lives,” he says. “I’ve told that to some of my staff who are not Whitecap members. For them, it’s easy to walk away from this, they only have to work here, they can walk away from the problem, not for us.”
Bear says around the time the money went missing, in late July, the employee in question left on vacation and never returned.
The incident was reported to Saskatoon RCMP on Sept. 6 and an investigation began on Sept. 11.
He adds although there is a large amount of funds missing, it is business as usual in terms of services and programming provided to band members and work on economic development projects.
Gallegos is described as 5’ 9” tall, with brown hair, brown eyes and a light complexion.
He is known to wear glasses or contacts.
Police believe Gallegos, who is from El Salvador, may have fled the country.