According to published reports, a former director of finance of Harness Racing PEI has been charged with the theft of a substantial amount of money

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The reports state that on Tuesday, January 13, Wade Gordon Crozier, a 39-year-old resident of Cornwall, was formally charged.

Crozier is to appear in court on Thursday, February 19 for election and plea.

Crozier is apparently a well-known sports figure across PEI, as he has found much success as an amateur golfer, a high-level hockey official and as an executive with the Cornwall major midget hockey team.

Crozier faces charges of theft over $5,000, fraud exceeding $5,000 and uttering forged documents. The offences are alleged to have occurred between July 1, 2005 and September 30, 2008.

Lee Drake, director of marketing and promotions for Harness Racing PEI, told CBC News on Wednesday the investigation has been hard on staff.

"It's always difficult at a time like this when something happens with an employee," said Drake.

"There's a team here that works extremely hard, but I think the overall feeling is that we want to co-operate fully. We need full disclosure for what the authorities need to do their job and at the end of the day we want it dealt with. It's not very nice to go through something like this."

To read the The Guardian article in its entirety, click here.

To read the CBC News article in its entirety, click here.

(With files from The Guardian and CBC News)