Man & Woman Deny False Accounting and Deception Scheme To Produce Fake Overtime Claims At Department of Environmental Health
Alric Lindsay 
By Alric Lindsay
A payroll fraud case targeting the Department of Environmental Health (DEH) is headed to trial after two people denied exploiting government system vulnerabilities.
Brittany Joelenna Espinoza Britton and Shawn Sashon Stewart stood in Grand Court today, September 18, 2026, to deny a complex five-count indictment. The Crown alleges the following:
** Count 1: False Accounting, contrary to section 255 of the Penal Code, alleging that between April 15, 2024, and August 16, 2024, Britton produced fraudulent overtime forms for Stewart. Britton pled not guilty.
** Count 2: Obtaining Money by Deception, contrary to section 247 of the Penal Code, dishonestly securing $435.19 by forging a Department of Environmental Health (DEH) supervisor’s signature. Britton pled not guilty.
** Count 3: Fraud and Breach of Trust by a Public Officer, contrary to section 118 of the Penal Code, for submitting inaccurate attendance records over the same 2024 window. Britton pled not guilty.
** Count 4: Dishonestly Retaining a Wrongful Credit, contrary to section 253 of the Penal Code, brought against Stewart for accepting a specific transaction of $1,463.97 knowing the credit was wrongful. Stewart pled not guilty.
** Count 5: Obtaining a Pecuniary Advantage by Deception, contrary to section 248 of the Penal Code, brought against Stewart for attempting to provide overtime claim forms he knew to be false, whereby overtime was not worked by him. Stewart pled not guilty.
Britton is represented by attorney Amelia Fosuhene and Stewart is represented by attorney Oliver Grimwood.
A ten-day trial is slated to begin on March 1, 2027, with bail extended for both individuals.
