The Chartered Professional Accountants of Alberta association has sanctioned a Canmore accountant who is also facing multiple criminal fraud charges.
Russell Neilson is accused of defrauding multiple victims of more than $6 million between 2009 and 2014 related to a business he set up in Canmore – Abaca Solutions.
The charges Neilson is facing in criminal court are set for trial next June in Calgary court and include four counts of fraud over $5,000, uttering a forged document and laundering the proceeds of crime.
In August, the CPAA Complaints Inquiry Committee approved a sanction agreement against Neilson for unprofessional conduct.
According to the CPAA website, Neilson admitted to the allegations of unprofessional conduct set out by the inquiry committee, including that he attached the logo of a large public accounting firm to unaudited financial statements for Abaca Solutions in 2012 and 2013 “without the knowledge or authorization of the large public account firm and without the involvement of the large public account firm in the preparation of the financial statements.”
The sanction agreement also found that Neilson did not cooperate with the Complaints Inquiry Committee.
As a result of the sanction agreement, Neilson was kicked out of the professional association and fined $50,000 in relation to the three complaints filed against him.
