B.C. university alleges ex-manager misappropriated $197K, including ‘improper’ payments to family

Simon Fraser University's Burnaby, B.C., campus is seen in a file image. (Jonathan Hayward/The Canadian Press)

Simon Fraser University is suing a former manager, alleging she misappropriated approximately $197,000 in funds over several years — including through a series of “improper” payments to her family members.

The allegations range from invoicing SFU for work that was never performed to depositing student locker fees into her personal bank account, according to the civil claim, which was filed earlier this month in B.C. Supreme Court.

Kristen Tanya Schiefke, her partner Solon Vine and her minor stepson are all named as defendants in the lawsuit. CTV News is not naming the stepson due to his age.

The defendants have yet to file statements of defence, and none of the allegations against them have been tested in court.

The university said Schiefke became manager of academic and administrative services with SFU’s School for the Contemporary Arts in 2012.

In that role, she occupied a “position of trust” that gave her “autonomy and discretion to, among other things, make financial and payroll decisions, with minimal or no oversight,” according to the claim.

The university alleges Schiefke approved approximately $46,500 in payments to an “unknown entity” called KTS Kreations beginning in 2018, for services such as set design and costume design, none of which was ever completed.

SFU said it later learned Schiefke was the owner, operator or “directing mind” behind KTS.

The former manager is also accused of approving two honorarium payments to her spouse — identified as a drywaller in the lawsuit — once as a “director and producer in a spring production” and once as a guest speaker.

Vine did neither, according to the university.

The lawsuit alleges Schiefke later put Vine on SFU’s payroll as a research assistant, approving approximately $138,700 in payments to him from 2019 to 2023. She appointed her stepson as a project assistant in 2021 as well, approving approximately $5,200 to him that year, according to the claim.

Her family members “did not and would not perform any work for, or render any services to SFU,” the court filing reads.

Schiefke is also accused of submitting duplicate expense claims and misrepresenting some of her purchases. Those include a personal cellphone she submitted as laptop repairs and a computer monitor she claimed was to be used by SFU students, according to the lawsuit.

The university said it began investigating Schiefke in July 2023, but that she went on medical leave that September and declined to participate in the probe.

That investigation ultimately found Schiefke had “engaged in a protracted and systematic pattern of deception and dishonesty to obtain financial benefits” for herself and her family, according to SFU’s civil claim, which said she remained on medical leave until resigning last month.

The university is seeking general damages, including for breach of contract and breach of fiduciary duty, as well as special damages.

CTV News was unable to reach Schiefke for this story.

A spokesperson for SFU declined to comment on the lawsuit, or whether the university has implemented any changes to prevent misappropriation in light of its investigation.