‘We should have seen it’: Bowness community hall warns others after falling victim to fraud

The president of a Bowness non-profit is warning others to be vigilant about screening volunteers after allegedly being defrauded of more than $66,000.

The president of a local community association is warning other non-profits in Calgary to be vigilant about screening volunteers after allegedly being scammed out of thousands of dollars.

Two men, one with a violent criminal past, are facing fraud charges in connection with the case, accused of embezzling more than $66,000 from the Bowness Ratepayers Scout and Guide Hall Association.

On Tuesday, Calgary police arrested Nathan Michael Mizera, 41, and Joshua Tyler Bredo, 40, and charged both with fraud over $5,000.

“All of this money—it’s community that is suffering because this is a hall of the community. This isn’t a private venture; this is owned by the community,” said Gord Barge, president of the Bowness Ratepayers Scout and Guide Hall Association.

Barge said the association became involved with the two men in 2022 when the pair approached the group about rebranding and handling day-to-day operations at the hall.

“It was all volunteer and everyone was tired and here’s these two under-40-year-old or 40-year-old guys, and they say, ‘We’d love to get in there and make that place shine again,’” said Barge.

“We thought, ‘Well, why not?’”

During that time, the hall became BowCommon and had events hosted under Discover Bowness.

Barge said the men were never in a paid position and said concerns began to be raised about the deteriorating state of the hall.

He said the association approached police in April 2024 when one of the directors’ daughters noted some red flags around funding.

“She looked into it, and she said, ‘Oh there is money missing. There is money missing here.’”

Barge said the association was also shocked to learn about the one man’s past conviction of manslaughter.

He said Bredo also went by the last name Mizera.

He said the association never requested a criminal record check for the men.

“Once things came out that he was Josh Bredo, it was like, ‘Holy crap,’” he said.

Bredo was sentenced in June 2017 for the August 2011 manslaughter of a Revelstoke man in Victoria, following a guilty plea.

Taking time served into consideration, Bredo was released in November 2018.

Barge said the directors had to take out a second mortgage on the hall and are considering other legal actions to try and recuperate the funds.

“In hindsight, we feel pretty foolish,” he said.

“How did I not see this? Well, we didn’t see it and we should have.”

Barge said he’s “ecstatic” with the charges laid and hopes the association’s experience will act as a warning to other community groups to be more skeptical, thoroughly screen volunteers and do the proper background checks.

“I come from a generation where I trust it. If you shook my hand and said, ‘OK, let’s do this,’ we’re going to do that. That’s how it worked. So, just get everything in writing,” he said.

“Don’t give these people signing authorities if they were to get involved into your organization until they’ve proven themselves.”

An expert in personal finance, Barry Choi, said non-profits are often easy targets for financial scams.

“There’s just not as much training; a lot of people are volunteering (and) they don’t know all the steps, especially when it comes to deposits or down payments for various events,” he said.

He recommends organizations set strict rules around finances.

“Have it in writing so regardless of who comes on board, (they) can follow those procedures,” he said.

“You need to have those steps in place to double-verify, have those contracts so you can protect yourself legally and make sure your staff know appropriate steps to take when dealing with money of any amount.”

Mizera and Bredo deny wrongdoing

Mizera and Bredo did not respond to CTV’s request for an interview but issued a joint statement Wednesday, denying any wrongdoing.

In it, they accuse a pair of police officers of targeting them and of corruption.

“The allegations against us are entirely false and have no credible evidentiary foundation,” the statement read.

Insp. Keith Hurley, commander for District 2, said he’s confident with the results of the investigation.

“An investigation like this isn’t just a singular source of information or a single person involved in it; we’ve spent quite a bit of time on this,” he said.

Calgary police believe the embezzlement was done by “hosting events using organization funds without paying attributed fees, falsifying documents to obtain financial control and creating false receipts for services never rendered, which were then sent to fabricated email addresses and deposited into their personal bank accounts.”

According to Mizera’s LinkedIn page, he’s intending to run for Calgary Board of Education trustee.

The pair are scheduled to appear in court on Aug. 6.

With files by Damien Wood