KITCHENER — The former couple at the helm of an international adoption agency which collapsed in 2009 appears prepared to deal with fraud charges.
Rick Hayhow, who was chief financial officer of the Cambridge-based agency, Imagine Adoption, may plead guilty to the charges, his lawyer said Monday outside Kitchener’s Ontario Court.
Susan Hayhow, the agency’s former executive director, wants a preliminary hearing on her charges. Such a hearing is held to determine if there is enough evidence to go to trial.
The Hayhows were jointly charged with breach of trust, six counts of fraud over $5,000 and three counts of fraud under $5,000. Each also faces an individual charge of fraud under $5,000.
More than 400 clients hoping to adopt children from a variety of countries, mostly Ethiopia, were left in limbo after their adoption agency went bankrupt in July 2009.
Waterloo Regional Police began investigating allegations that more than $300,000 was charged to agency credit cards for personal purchases, including trips to Disney World, New York City and the Deerhurst Resort in Muskoka, spa visits, home renovations and a horse and saddle.
The couple drove leased luxury vehicles and paid themselves a combined income of $320,000 a year.
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