Elizabeth Eek, aka Beth Galley, is seen in a 2012 Facebook photo.
Image Credit: FACEBOOK
July 19, 2024 - 6:00 PM
A West Kelowna fraudster who used a fake medical note to avoid a court appearance for fraud is now on the lam.
Elizabeth Kathleen Eek, more commonly known as Beth Galley, was supposed to be in a Kelowna courtroom today, July 19, waiting to see whether Provincial Court Judge Clarke Burnett would send her to prison for defrauding Manulife Financial out of more than $5,000.
However, her lawyer Mark Chiu said she'd sent him a doctor's note yesterday saying there'd been a medical emergency.
Clearly smelling a rat, Crown prosecutor David Grabavac called the doctor's office, only to be told by the doctor the letter was fake and it wasn't their signature.
"The fact that she... is to be sentenced for a charge involving fraud and then has produced a letter from a physician that is fraudulent is extremely concerning," Judge Burnett told the court.
The defence lawyer said he'd told Eek the court knew the doctor's letter was fake and to turn up to court. Instead, she texted him saying she was having suicidal ideations.
The judge didn't buy it.
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It's not the first time the 45-year-old has been convicted of fraud, nor is it the first she failed to show up to court.
Court records show her history of defrauding people dates back more than 15 years.
She was first charged in 2007 for a single charge of fraud under $5,000 but failed to show up during the proceedings.
Somehow she managed to stay under the radar for almost seven years before police caught up with her.
In 2015, she got nine months of house arrest for the 2007 charge, along with a separate charge of fraud over $5,000 stemming back to 2008.
A couple of years later, she was sentenced to 90 days jail to be served at the weekends for a charge of fraud over $5,000 dating back to 2014.
Little is known about Eek, who commonly goes by the name Beth Galley, only that she is from the Rock Creek area, once worked in Kelowna as a medical office assistant and was involved with the Kelowna BMX Club with her children.
Court records show over the years she's left a slew of people wanting money from her.
A former landlady told iNFOnews.ca that Eek, under the name Beth Galley, had rented a property from her along with her partner Shay Galley and their children.
After months with no rent, the landlady was forced to issue an eviction notice which she ignored. Ultimately, bailiffs escorted by the RCMP forcibly removed Eek and her family.
Eek owed $7,100 in past rent, which the landlady said she never saw.
The landlady said Eek once gave her a fake medical letter using it as an excuse not to pay rent.
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Eek's earliest court summons dates back to 2001 when Osoyoos Credit Union took her and Shay Galley to the small claims court over $3,400.
She also went through bankruptcy proceedings in 2006.
More recently in April, LendCare Capital filed a small claim court case against Eek over a $13,500 unpaid vehicle loan.
A former employer also took her to the small claims court in 2009 accusing Eek of swiping $4,386 in cash and credit card payments from the Vancouver business.
"Upon discovering the fraud, the Plaintiffs approached (Eek) and to date (she) has not returned to work nor has she returned the funds," the court document said.
This allegation was never proven and Eek didn't respond to the court filing.
Little is known about her current charge for fraud, only that involved Manulife Financial and was for more than $5,000.
Judge Burnett said he'd read a presentence report which suggested a jail sentence.
As she wasn't there, the judge instead issued a warrant for her arrest.
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