Abbotsford Police chase $200K allegedly embezzled by former employee

The AbbotsfordPolice Board and City of Abbotsford havelaunched a lawsuit to reclaim almost $200,000 they allege was embezzled by a former employee.

According to court documents Shelley Dallas Mickens, also known as Shelley Dallas Boyce, allegedly stole $192,200 in cash while she was the director of the finance and budget branch of the Abbotsford Police Department.

Mickens held the position from April 1999 until she retired in June 2016. Until recently she also volunteered as director of theAbbotsfordPolice Foundation.

The Abbotsford Police tweeted goodbye to Shelley Mickens, also known as Shelley Boyce, on the day of her retirement last summer.

The claim, filed on Feb. 24, alleges she"concealed the theft by preparing misleading documents and accounting entries and by providingmisleading information to the chief constable and deputy chief constables of the APD."

According to the claim Mickens manipulated a financial account that was legitimately set up for a "cell mate" sting operation that ended in 2011.

The account was supposed to be retired in 2013 but the claim alleges Mickensused her access to the police accounting system to keep the account active and designate it "DNR" which stands for Do Not Report.

The DNR designation is used to mark files as confidential, and essentially worked to obscurethe account from review.

The claim describes how Mickens allegedly transferred funds into the account and then withdrew the money as cash through fraudulent transactionsbetween Feb 1, 2013 and April 29, 2016.

The claim seeksto freezeMickens's assets.

Mickens has not filed a response to the lawsuit and none of the allegations have been proven in court.

CBC News called Mickens's lawyer for comment but did not receive a response.