Former Mitchell Hawks treasurer accused of defrauding club

The former treasurer of a Perth County junior hockey team has been charged with fraud after allegedly removing more than $40,000 from a bank account associated with the club.

Corrine McKenzie, 37, a former West Perth resident now living in Huron East, was charged this month with fraud with a value of more than $5,000. She allegedly took $45,000 from the account of the Mitchell Jr. C Hawks, a team that plays in the Provincial Junior Hockey League.

“It’s a messed up situation,” club president Cory Broughton said after the Perth County OPP released details of the fraud allegations on Aug. 16. “It’s in the court’s hands now.”

McKenzie first stepped into the vacant treasurer’s role on the club’s volunteer board of directors prior to the Mitchell team’s 2021-22 season. Broughton and others on the executive, who had known McKenzie for years, felt comfortable with her in the role, given her experience as an employee of an out-of-town financial institution.

Broughton, though, said he was contacted by one of the team’s financial institutions and was made aware of the potential fraud in mid-May as the club prepared for its May 31 annual general meeting. Broughton said after repeated attempts to contact McKenzie for an explanation, and an internal investigation with the help of the financial institution, he called the local provincial police detachment to investigate.

It’s believed the alleged fraud began in May 2022 and had been ongoing for the better part of a year, Broughton said.

McKenzie could not be reached for comment by press time.

“I feel bad for the sponsors who have always supported us,” Broughton said. “The community has allowed us to ice a team over the years, and we thank them for their support. A lot of people don’t realize how much time you actually spend pounding the pavement talking to people to get this money. It’s not easy. And now this …. It’s like a kick in the teeth.”

McKenzie’s season with the 1966-founded team also coincided with the Hawks’ first-ever Pollock Division title and a berth in the league’s North Conference final, the deepest playoff run they’d enjoyed in decades.

McKenzie is scheduled to make her first appearance in Stratford court Aug. 28.