Industry News
Derek Kwasney, the former Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of the Lake Louise Ski Resort, was recently sentenced to one year in jail and a $106,000 fine for failing to pay taxes on embezzled money from the resort. This comes just weeks after the 54-year-old pled guilty and was sentenced to four-and-a-half years in prison and a $669,000 fine for a fraud conviction, bringing the total penalties to $775,000, according to a Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) report. Kwasney started working for the resort at its Calgary-based office in 2008 and was later fired in 2016.
Court records show the tax evasion and embezzlement occurred between January 1, 2015, and March 23, 2017. Kwasney filed his taxes on March 23, 2017.
According to an Agreed Statement of Facts (ASF) filed at the Calgary courthouse, Kwasney stole from the resort in three ways. On 16 different occasions, Kwasney signed checks, making them payable to his personal credit cards and bank accounts, with a total of $226,000 in misappropriated funds coming in this manner. Kwasney also claimed a $700 per month vehicle allowance in his expense reports from 2015 and 2016, which he had already received on his statement of earnings. This method totaled another $13,000 of ill-gotten gains. Lastly, Kwasney stole over $73,000 from the resort by having his employer pay his salary twice through direct deposits to two different bank accounts. These additional earnings were not reported to the Canada Revenue Agency, the Canadian equivalent of the Internal Revenue Services.
In September, Kwasney pleaded guilty to two counts of tax evasion. Now, Kwasney has filed an appeal on his criminal case, and hearings are set to begin in 2025.
Kwasney was most recently employed as a principal at Beacon Consulting Group, a construction consulting company located in New York City, New York. Before his work at Beacon Consulting Group, he worked in various roles at the Calgary Stampede. He was also a member of the Chartered Professional Accountants of Alberta before his membership was suspended on June 9, 2022.
The Lake Louise Ski Resort is located in Alberta, Canada, and recently started its season on November 5. It is one of the largest ski resorts in North America, with over 4,200 acres of skiable terrain across four mountain faces. Its pristine location in the Canadian Rockies brings the resort breathtaking views and make it a popular destination for skiers and snowboarders around the world.
Lake Louise Ski Resort is headed by President Charlie Locke, who has been with the resort since 1981. Norbert Mazenod has been the CFO of Lake Louise since Kwasney was fired in 2016, and now the resort is trying to leave the messy lawsuit behind it. “The resort has moved on and is looking forward to a great season,” a Lake Louise Ski Resort spokesperson said in a CTV News article.
