B.C. badminton community concerned after learning of executive director's fraud conviction
Court records show Badminton B.C.'s Daisy Lee pleaded guilty to stealing $104,000 from her former employer
Members of B.C.'s badminton community are voicing concerns over the leadership of Badminton B.C. after learning the organization's executive director was hired only months after being convicted of fraud for stealing more than $100,000 from a former employer.
Court records show Daisy Lee pleaded guilty in 2017 to fraud over $5,000. She was sentenced on Feb. 9, 2018 to a 12-month conditional sentence followed by 12 months probation.
The reasons for judgment state Lee was the "controlling mind" in schemes that allowed her to steal $104,000 from her employer Telus between 2012 and 2015.
Lee was appointed to the paid position of Badminton B.C. executive director in June 2018, four months after being sentenced, and has held the job ever since.
Before becoming executive director, she sat on the volunteer Badminton B.C. board of directors for approximately four years.
Thomas Hu, whose three children play the sport in Victoria, said news of Lee's conviction has raised doubts about oversight.
"I think Badminton B.C. should correct this problem," Hu said. "They should reconsider the position and if this lady should qualify as executive director."
Badminton B.C. is a registered non-profit society incorporated under the provincial Societies Act that receives public funding. Last year, it reported a membership of approximately 3,000 people and a budget of close to $600,000.
According to the Badminton B.C.'s employee and volunteer screening policy, a criminal offence "involving theft, fraud or embezzlement" disqualifies someone from being hired or appointed by the organization.
The policy also states that people in paid staff positions and members of the board of directors must submit a police record check that requires updating every four years.
Additionally, Societies Act legislation says a person convicted of fraud is not qualified to be a director unless at least five years have elapsed from the end of a probationary term.
Dawn McGuire-Reeves, the president of Badminton B.C. from 2012 to 2017, has written an open letter questioning if proper procedure was followed when Lee was hired. In it, she warns that without due diligence, the organization's funding is at risk.
She is also asking for an independent investigation into the circumstances of Lee's employment.
"I would like to see the person involved put on a paid leave until that investigation is concluded. And I would like to see the results of this investigation, either clearing that person, in which case, apologies all around, or appropriate action taken to protect the organization and the sport," she told CBC News.
The CBC reached out to Lee for comment but did not hear back.
It also requested an interview with an executive member of Badminton B.C.'s board of directors and sent questions via email.
In response, vice president Thomas Kwan wrote: "Badminton B.C. is aware of the allegations that have been raised about one of our employees. We do not confirm those allegations and are legally unable to comment on the personal matters of our employees."
A spokesperson for B.C.'s Ministry of Tourism, Arts, Culture and Sport, which provides funding to provincial sport organizations, told the CBC in an email that the ministry "was not aware of this situation." The spokesperson said their funding arm — viaSport — is currently looking into Badminton B.C. to determine next steps.
"If requirements are not being met, viaSport can suspend funding," they said.
In a letter to members of Badminton B.C., coach and Canadian Olympian Anna Rice noted that the executive director has the authority to manage thousands of dollars in grant money.
"Badminton B.C. does have safeguards in place to prevent people previously charged with specific crimes from working for the organization, either as a volunteer or an employee. Every summer, myself and dozens of other coaches... submit a criminal record check to demonstrate we do not have a criminal history," she wrote.
"I believe the membership has a right to know if the bylaws were followed when Daisy Lee was hired," Rice said.
Members of Badminton B.C. have twice voted down the 2024 Badminton B.C. budget in recent months after learning of Lee's conviction.
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