The fraud involved selling donated items meant for shelters and food banks for profit. https://t.co/PB2m8r133Q
— Toronto Star (@TorontoStar) April 26, 2017
The Star’s rmer executive director of a Salvation Army donation storage and distribution centre was found guilty of a massive fraud involving selling donated items meant for shelters and food banks for profit. These included toys donated through the Christmas Toy Mountain campaign. Court heard that David Rennie took cash in a variety of ways for high quality goods intended for needy kids. Ontario Court Justice Sandra Bacchus found that after Rennie was appointed executive director of the centre in January 2010 he developed a relationship with a wholesaler, Umaish “Tony” Ramrattan. Rennie began allowing Ramrattan to pick the best donations — toys and food that was far from its expiry date — and take it to another warehouse and sell it for a profit. Trucks laden with donations from Nestle and Sun laundry detergent were rerouted to this second warehouse operated by Ramrattan. The fraud was so brazen that staff began to complain among themselves and finally persuaded a warehouse manager to make a complaint. Ramratten was found not guilty. His defense was that he thought the arrangement with Rennie was authorized by the Army. Sentencing is still to be set.
