Ex-Que. lieutenant-governor faces fraud charges

The province's former lieutenant-governor, Lise Thibault, is appearing in court in Quebec City on Monday to face fraud and breach of trust charges.

Thibault is accused of spending more than $700,000 in taxpayer money without justification during her10 years as the Queen's representative in Quebec.

Monday's court appearancewill mark the start of a preliminary hearing to determine if there's enough evidence for a trial.

The 71-year-old could face a maximum of 14 years in prisonif shegoes on trial and is found guilty,

The Quebec government is also suing Thibault for $92,000 to recoup some of the public funds she's accused of unjustifiablyspending.

The lawsuit is equivalent to Quebec's share of Thibault's allegedly unjustified expenses.

The criminalcharges were authorized in 2009 by a Quebec Court judge, and details of Thibault's hearing Monday are protected by a publication ban.

$1.7M in expenditures analyzed

The six criminal accusations against Thibault, which include fraud, breach of trust and creating forged documents, were the result of scathing reports from the auditor generals of both Quebec and Canada.

Allegations of unjustified expenses came to light in the2007 reports, when $1.7 millionin expenditures made between 1997 and 2007 were analyzed.

The reports found Thibault submitted expenses for private trips and dinners, skiing lessons, and presents for friends and family without providing receipts.

Stories of golf trips and lavish receptionspaid by taxpayersalso emerged.

More than a year later, Thibault faced a grilling by a parliamentary committee dealing with the allegations.

The formerlieutenant-governorremained defiant that her expenses were legitimate, saying she was a victim, a poor old woman being forced to answer such questions.