Quick end to bank fraud trial as accused changes pleas

There has been a twist in the trial of a Belleville woman charged with defrauding a local credit union of more than $1 million.

Cheryll Drumm has decided to plead guilty to two of three charges, including fraud over $5,000 and money laundering, while a third charge of theft over $5,000 was withdrawn.

Drumm had originally pleaded not guilty to all three charges but changed her mind on day two of her trial Tuesday, after speaking with her lawyer John Wonnacott that afternoon.

Wonnacott wouldn’t elaborate to Quinte News about that conversation, or why the decision was made.

Evidence presented on Monday showed Drumm moved and manipulated funds through various accounts, while working at Bayshore Credit Union, to benefit herself and others.

Assistant Crown Attorney Jodi Whyte told Quinte News that “the work up front clearly demonstrated the strength of the case on the first day”.

The two co-accused in the case, Alan Lasher and George Misuraca had agreed to pay civil restitution in order to have their criminal charges dropped and court heard both are still involved in civil suits which have had a major financial impact on them.

During the hearing on Wednesday, Wannacott also noted that while Drumm did admit to taking close to $90,000 for herself over the four-year span, she received no benefit or kickback for helping to advance Lasher and Misuraca more than $800,000 and $500,000 respectively.

That spurred Justice Robert Scott, who took over from Justice Wolf Tausendfreund when the plea deal was struck, to ask if Wonnacott “saw his client as a modern day Robin Hood”.

In issuing a request for a pre-sentence report, Justice Scott said “there didn’t appear to be any bad habits linking Drumm to that kind of activity” and he wanted “to see the relationship with the co-accused explained in a little more detail”.

That pre-sentence report will be presented ahead of a sentencing hearing on October 11, 2019.