Ex Millbrook First Nation employee faces charges in multimillion-dollar fraud: RCMP

An RCMP vehicle is seen in an undated photo.

A woman is facing charges in what police say is a multimillion-dollar fraud involving a Nova Scotia First Nation.

The investigation started in December 2019 when Millbrook RCMP was told by the chief and council of the Millbrook First Nation about a possible fraud committed by a former employee. The fraud was believed to be more than $1 million.

At that point, the investigation was taken over by the Nova Scotia RCMP Commercial Crime Section, with help from RCMP Digital Forensic Services and Public Services and Procurement Canada's Forensic Accounting Management Group (FAMG).

The RCMP says investigators discovered that the ex-employee had either stolen or misappropriated more than $4 million over four years between January 2016 and December 2019.

Dawn Ellis-Abbott, 42, of Bible Hill, N.S., was arrested in connection with the investigation on March 17, 2023. She was later released on conditions.

Ellis-Abbott has since been charged with:

• fraud over $5,000
• theft over $5,000
• possession of property obtained by crime over $5,000

She is due in Truro provincial court on May 24 at 9:30 a.m.