A former bookkeeper in Dartmouth, N.S., was sentenced to house arrest for defrauding two Catholic parishes of over $225,000 through 1,900 transactions over a decade
Former Bookkeeper Sentenced for Fraud Against Catholic Parishes
A 52-year-old former bookkeeper will not go to jail for defrauding two Roman Catholic parishes on Nova Scotia’s Eastern Shore. Patricia Anne Dixon defrauded the parishes of more than $225,000 through hundreds of transactions over a decade.
On Tuesday, Judge Amy Sakalauskas accepted a joint recommendation from the prosecution and defense in provincial court in Dartmouth, N.S. She sentenced Dixon to two years of house arrest followed by three years of probation.
“The impact of what happened here is obviously still strongly felt,” Sakalauskas said. She noted feelings of hurt, betrayal, and disappointment among parishioners, as well as ripple effects in the community.
Five former parishioners of St. Anselm’s Parish attended the court hearing. St. Anselm’s was closed in 2018 by the local archdiocese and merged into a new parish, Saint John of the Cross.
Dixon pleaded guilty to one count of fraud over $5,000 last May, three years after her initial charge. The offenses occurred between 2010 and 2020.
While working as a bookkeeper at St. Anselm’s and later at Saint John of the Cross, Dixon committed nearly 1,900 fraudulent transactions. Most of these involved parish credit cards, with expenditures on groceries, travel, and home heating fuel.
Judge Sakalauskas stated that Dixon’s moral culpability was high and that she made ongoing efforts to conceal her fraud. No clear reason was given for her actions other than personal gain.
A 20-page agreed statement of facts and a forensic accounting report were submitted during sentencing. These documents indicated lax financial controls, and Sakalauskas noted that Dixon “took advantage of a system that was ripe for exploitation.”
In Dixon’s favor, the judge mentioned her positive pre-sentence report and her guilty plea, which saved resources that would have been used in a lengthy trial.
This fall, Sakalauskas questioned the recommendation for house arrest for this type of fraud. Crown and defense lawyers returned to court last month to justify the lenient sentence.
One former parishioner, Madeline Oldham, expressed her dissatisfaction with the plea agreement. She stated that she and others were “dumbfounded” by Dixon admitting guilt to a single charge.
“It’s not justice for the victims, it’s justice for the offender,” Oldham said.
Prosecutor Brian Cox acknowledged that the sentence recommendation was lenient. He noted that while the Crown had a strong case, proving the total amount was challenging due to the number of transactions.
Cox mentioned that a trial could have taken weeks, considering the necessary documents and witness testimony. He stated, “This sentencing recommendation does justice for those victims.”
Dixon declined to comment outside the courtroom, as did her lawyer, Aimee Walters.
As part of her sentence, Dixon is prohibited from seeking or continuing employment that involves authority over money or property. She must also pay $225,258.83 in restitution to Saint John of the Cross Parish, but payments will only begin once her gross monthly income exceeds $5,000.
Her pre-sentence report from June indicated that she earned about $2,200 a month as a “virtual receptionist” for a communications company.
| Detail | Information |
|---|---|
| Defendant | Patricia Anne Dixon |
| Age | 52 |
| Fraud Amount | $225,000+ |
| Fraud Period | 2010-2020 |
| Transactions | Nearly 1,900 |
| Sentence | 2 years house arrest, 3 years probation |
| Restitution | $225,258.83 |
| Monthly Income | $2,200 |
