Former IWK CEO found guilty of fraud to appeal decision next week

The former CEO of the IWK Health Centre who was found guilty of fraud last summer is due in court next week to appeal her conviction.

Tracy Kitch held her position at the Halifax children’s hospital from 2014 until she stepped down in 2017.

That same year, an investigation by the hospital found she used flight passes and a corporate credit card for personal and travel expenses totalling more than $45,000.

She has since repaid all the money to the hospital.

Police charged her in 2018 with one count of fraud over $5,000 and breach of trust.

Following a 12-day trial in February 2022, the provincial court found Kitch guilty of the fraud charge but stayed the breach of trust charge.

In August, she was sentenced to five months in jail, followed by 12 months’ probation.

She was released on $20,000 bail and ordered to abide by several conditions until her appeal.

Kitch is appealing both her conviction and sentence, “arguing, among other grounds, that the trial judge erred by convicting her without making factual findings that supported the essential elements of the offences,” the Nova Scotia Court of Appeal said in a news release.

The hearing is set for a full day starting at 10 a.m. Tuesday at the Nova Scotia Court of Appeal.

More to come …