Acknowledging she was “reckless” or “willfully blind” in her use of the agency’s credit card, the former CEO of Imagine Adoption pleaded guilty Monday to one count of fraud.
Susan Hayhow was later sentenced to six months of house arrest, followed by 18 months of probation.
It’s the same sentence her ex-husband Rick – the organization’s chief financial officer – received in February.
Court documents show that Susan Hayhow used Imagine Adoption’s credit card to pay for about $46,500 worth of personal expenses – including travel, clothing and meals.
The adoption agency’s policies allowed her do that, provided she reimburse Imagine for the spending – which she expected Rick to do on her behalf.
According to an agreed statement of facts filed in court, Rick Hayhow did reimburse the agency – but from a related business account rather than from his then-wife’s personal bank account.
Susan Hayhow was also ordered to pay back $20,000.
The couple were initially accused of spending more than $420,000 in agency funds on personal expenses.
Addressing the court Monday, Crown prosecutor David Foulds said there was little proof anything like that occurred.
“There is no evidence that Imagine Adoption was a fraudulent scheme for the benefit of the Hayhows,” he said.
When Imagine Adoption went bankrupt in 2009, hundreds of parents were left stranded in the middle of the adoption process.
Some of them were eventually able to complete adoptions.
Others, like Robyn Bertucci, ended up losing significant money and not managing to adopt any children.
“She robbed me of being a parent,” Bertucci told CTV News after learning of Hayhow’s fate.
“How do you put a price on what she stole from me? I don’t think there is anything that could make me feel better.”
