Former CEO of IWK children's hospital in Halifax convicted again of fraud following 2nd trial

The former CEO of the IWK children's and maternity infirmary in Halifax has been found hangdog for a indorse clip of dupery, with a judge ruling she used a corporate credit card and flights paid for by the hospital for personal reasons and didn't admit to it until she was caught.

Tracy Kitch appeared by video Friday as Associate Chief Judge Ronda van der Hoek handed down her decision following a retrial that was ordered after the Nova Scotia Court of Appeal overturned an earlier conviction due to errors by another judge.

"Her actions were dishonest and deprived the IWK of monies meant to address health-care needs for mothers and children in this province," van der Hoek said in provincial court in Kentville, N.S.

The prosecution argued at trial that during Kitch's tenure as the head of the IWK Health Centre between 2014 and 2017, the fraud amounted to at least $30,000. It included charges for personal expenses on a hospital credit card and using Air Canada flight passes purchased by the hospital to take personal trips. 

Van der Hoek concluded that much of the spending was linked to the decision by Kitch not to commit to moving to Nova Scotia from Toronto when she took the job at the IWK, and that she used hospital resources to reunite with her family in Ontario.

The judge also noted the testimony from the lead investigator in the case, Halifax police Const. Christian Pluta, who obtained Kitch's personal credit card and banking records to figure out if she was in "financial distress" at the time of the fraud.

The records showed payday loans, 38 bounced cheques over a nine-month period and other financial issues that stopped after an $800,000 pension cash-out was deposited in her account, according to van der Hoek. The examination also showed her personal credit card had been declined at a "significant rate."

Prosecutor Peter Dostal said in an interview the records indicated Kitch was spending beyond her means, although there wasn't a clear, single reason as seen in many other cases, such as gambling or excessive luxury.

He said he was pleased with how the judge carefully considered the evidence at trial and with her characterization of the offence.

"The case isn't simply a question of dollar amounts," Dostal said. "The case really is about someone who's at the apex of a beloved public institution — a children's hospital — and uses that position for the purposes of enriching themselves.

"And that, we see as a fundamental part of this case, that level of abuse of their position of public trust, and not simply on a one-off time, but time and time again over several years."

Kitch stepped down from her post following an audit ordered by the IWK board that showed she had expensed about $47,000 in personal charges to the hospital. Kitch eventually repaid the money in full.

Kitch, who made $296,000 in her last full year at the hospital, pleaded not guilty to the charge of fraud over $5,000. She did not testify at trial, which heard from a number of IWK officials, including two of her executive assistants.

"The court rejects the argument that Ms. Kitch was merely negligent and always intended to pay back the funds," van der Hoek said. 

"If that were the case, she could have gone to the board chairs to discuss the issue and not tied her executive assistants in knots trying to keep track of some of her unauthorized actions."

The judge said the evidence showing Kitch's "impecuniosity" — that she had little or no money at the time — makes the suggestion of a plan to pay back personal expenses charged to the hospital "spurious."

The case returns to court next week, when a date for sentencing will be set. After Kitch was first convicted, in 2022, she was sentenced to five months in jail. But she only spent one night behind bars before being released on bail as she awaited an appeal hearing.

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