No jail for Kettle Valley Railway business manager who stole $74,000

Julia Beatrice Belmonte was just 23 years old when she got a job working for the Kettle Valley Steam Railway in Summerland.

A recent university graduate, Belmonte took the business manager position in June 2021 and then immediately started stealing.

Over the next 18 months, Belmonte made more than 80 purchases with the not-for-profit’s Amazon account. Transferred more than $6,000 to her own bank account and set up a fake vendor account and transferred $5,000 into it.

She also gave herself a pay raise, claimed more than $4,000 in vacation pay she wasn’t entitled to, and on dozens of occasions just left work with cash totalling $34,770.

She then managed to keep the not-for-profit’s accounts from being checked.

When staff at the Kettle Valley Steam Railway finally uncovered the fraud, Belmonte had taken more than $74,000.

Today, Aug. 25, Belmonte appeared in a Penticton courtroom having been charged with theft and fraud.

“Ms. Belmonte was in a position of trust and authority in relation to the society. She abused that position,” Crown prosecutor Daniel Kozera told the court.

Belmonte choked back tears as she apologized for defrauding the organization that had employed her.

“There is exclusively shame, remorse and deep, deep apologetic feelings to not only the society, but the victims in this room today,” she told the court. “The effect goes very deep, and I’ve felt it every single day since I left the society.”

The court heard how in June 2021 Belmonte began working for the popular Summerland tourism attraction, which attracts 35,000 visitors a year who ride on the 1912 steam locomotive for 16 kilometres high in the Okanagan hills.

As the business manager she was making $60,000 a year and was in charge of payroll along with multiple other responsibilities.

It’s not clear how she managed to stop anyone from finding out, but in December 2022 a former business manager was brought in because of delays in completing financial documents. The fraud was uncovered, and the police were notified.

She didn’t return to work the next day.

In March 2023, police raided her West Kelowna home and found hundreds of items she’d ordered from Amazon with her work credit card. The purchases ranged from mattresses and ski equipment to jewelry and underwear.

She was charged with fraud and theft and last fall pleaded guilty.

Little was heard about Belmonte’s life. She is 27 years old and graduated from university and worked in Ontario as an events planner before moving to Kelowna.

She had no criminal record and her motivations for stealing the money weren’t made clear.

“The motivation largely was essentially greed,” Kozera told the court.

There was no drug or alcohol addiction, or gambling addiction, which is often present in similar cases.

Belmonte had said she had “no good reason” for the fraud.

There was also mention she’d taken $109,00, but the court heard she’d pleaded guilty to $74,000.

The Crown said that while Belmonte expressed remorse, she had also tried to explain her conduct by saying she was overwhelmed at work and wasn’t getting the help from her employer.

She struggled with ADHD, and the medication she’d been given led to panic attacks and anxiety.

The Crown said there was no clear link between her mental health and the fraud.

In a joint submission to the court, the Crown and defence lawyer Wade Jensen argued for two years’ house arrest followed by three years’ probation.

Judge Reginald Harris accepted the sentence, but ruled that 20 months probation was more appropriate.

Ultimately, Belmonte was sentenced to 18 months of house arrest under a curfew, although she will be allowed to leave to go to work.

She was also given a restitution order and has seven years to pay back $74,171.