On the morning of August 8, 2018, Hubcity Theatre received correspondence from our, now former, treasurer confessing to the fact that she embezzled money from Hubcity over the past two years. In her confession, she admitted an inability to repay what she had stolen.
The remaining board members immediately retrieved our documents from her and performed an audit of the accounts. A report was filed with the Codiac RCMP and the legal aspect of the case is in the hands of the justice system.
The board members of Hubcity Theatre are deeply saddened by this breach of trust by a long-time member of our organization and someone we thought was a friend. The realization that we have been lied to by someone we trusted has been, in short, devastating.
As a community-based and driven organization, not only was money stolen from Hubcity, it was stolen from every audience member who bought a ticket and everyone who gave us a donation or grant. It was taken from Moncton’s loving arts community, which has supported us for over a decade. This is the most upsetting aspect to the board.
While we took the expected precautions to protect our accounts, we trusted the reports and information being shared with us were accurate and had no reason to doubt them. We have been working with the bank to improve safeguards and have implemented stricter auditing procedures. The remaining board members have full-transparency with our accounts, to strengthen our accountability.
Hubcity has been the home of an inclusive, accepting, community-based theatre company for over 10 years and this setback will not stop us. We will venture forward, led by our love of the theatre and the dedicated and growing arts community in Moncton. We look forward to your support as we aim for greater heights and expand our programming and services.
Sincerely,
Erin Lauriston
Mark McPhee
JB Vanier
Cody Bolton
Brad Butland
Kelly MacDonald-Mason
