Early in his episcopate, Bishop Njegovan made a name for himself when he declared that The Anglican Planet, an independent Anglican-based Canadian newspaper, was "sowing the seeds of distrust and disdain within the Church, and that the publishers have no respect for those in authority over them."

He then banned the monthly editorially, conservative Anglican publication from Diocese of Brandon parishes. "As bishop, I do not endorse any such material," he was quoted as saying. "Nor do I wish to see it distributed in, or to, our parishes."

He also ordered that a picture of his immediate predecessor, Bishop Harding, be taken down at St. Matthew's Cathedral in Brandon because the former bishop, along with fellow Canadian bishops Don Harvey (III Eastern Newfoundland & Labrador) and Ronald Ferris (IX Yukon & Algoma) all left the liberally-minded Anglican Church of Canada (ACoC) for the Anglican Network in Canada (ANiC) . The three early ANiC bishops are now members of the ever-expanding Anglican Church in North America (ACNA) College of Bishops.

The “Anglican Samizdat” quoted Bishop Njegovan telling Bishop Harding that “he could no longer exercise any ordained ministerial function within the Church and not use ministerial titles or wear clerical vesture.”

Upon this backdrop Bishop Njegovan's son, Noah Njegovan came on the scene. In 2009, he was made the Diocese's executive archdeacon and assistant to his Dad -- The Bishop -- working out of the synod office in Brandon, the largest city in the Diocese and second largest city in Manitoba. An archdeacon is a high-ranking diocesan cleric with responsibility for diocesan administration and has defined administrative authority.

In April 2013,The Brandon Sun broke the story that Archdeacon Njegovan was being charged with the embezzlement of diocesan funds through credit card fraud covering a 29-month period from May 12, 2010 through September 12, 2012. He reportedly handled all diocesan bookkeeping, including payroll, and prepared budgets and financial statements for his father and the Diocese.

Allegedly, the Archdeacon juggled the books and diverted money to keep the diocesan credit card -- which had a $2,500 spending limit -- paid.

The Brandon newspaper reported that the priest's "activity was covered up by intercepting credit card bills in the mail and using Internet banking to redirect funds from a diocese bank account to pay for the purchases."
Noah Njegovan's questionable record keeping started to come to light in August 2012. The extent of the alleged embezzlement was discovered after he resigned from his diocesan position in September to "pursue other interests".

At first it was thought that the amount involved was about $190,000-Canadian ($173,500-US). After further investigation, the true figure appears to top $200,000-Canadian ($183,000-US).
The younger Njegovan supposedly used the diocesan credit card for his own personal use and allegedly intercepted congregational online money transfers to cover his trail. His purported embezzlement was found through an audit of the diocesan books.

In an April 2013 public statement read from the pulpit to clergy and laity, the Diocese explained that the former Archdeacon's allegedly fraudulent activity was able to go undetected for so long because credit card payments were made from diocesan funds via electronic funds transfer and no checks were written to leave a paper trail.

“Because no cheques were written," the statement noted, "the charges and payments in question were neither seen nor approved by the Executive Committee.”

After the Diocese discovered the financial irregularities, the matter was turned over to the Brandon Police Service. In February 2013, Noah Njegovan was arrested and released on bail. His father, Bishop Njegovan, distanced himself from the developing situation.

“There has been no allegation of wrongdoing on the Bishop’s part," the Diocesan statement noted. " His silence is necessary to ensure that the matter is investigated and resolved in a fair and orderly manner.”
The former Archdeacon was charged with fraud over $5,000.

In April 2013, he first appeared in court to face the charges. The Anglican Journal reported in March 2014 that the Crown withdrew the charges against Noah Njegovan because the allegations could not be proven in court. The Crown (Canadian government) retains the right to proceed against him at a later date should further investigation warrant it, but he is currently not under arrest or out on bail.

"The evidence that had been provided by police simply was not the evidence that would have allowed the Crown to satisfy a court beyond a reasonable doubt that a crime had been committed," Senior Crown Attorney Garry Rainnie explained to VOL in a telephone interview. "What police are doing are furthering their investigation including a forensic audit."

The Canadian Crown Attorney explained that a “forensic audit” occurs when the seized financial paperwork and banking records are gone through with a fine tooth comb by an accountant who is familiar with criminal fraud and theft.

"There will be a full investigation report prepared which presumably will be sent to the Crown Attorney's office," Rainnie indicated. At that time, a Crown opinion would be asked for to determine if the added evidence was sufficient to have a charge proceed.

Noah Njegovan is no stranger to the Manitoba court system
In early September 2012, just as the embezzlement scandal was unraveling at the Diocese, Noah was sued for divorce in Queen's Bench Family Court by his wife, Tara Njegovan. They were married in March 2009.

Just a week after he was sued for divorce, the Bank of Montreal brought him to Queen's Bench Civil Court seeking $20, 876.71-Canadian ($19,021.33-US).

In October 2013, the Rosenort Co-op, a local general store, sued Noah in Queens Bench Small Claims Court for $945.63-Canadian ($861.55-US) for an unpaid account.

Noah Njegovan's latest legal entanglement comes from the hands of the Diocese of Brandon, which is suing him to try and recover some of the money he allegedly absconded with. The misdirected funds were to be used for the day-to-day operation of the small diocese. Instead, the Diocese ended up having to liquidate some assets to stay financially afloat. The Diocesan insurance to cover losses caused by employee dishonesty only paid a portion of the financial loss.

The Diocese of Brandon is a financially assisted diocese in the Anglican Church of Canada and belongs to the Council of the North a coalition of 11 ACoC ecclesial jurisdictions. In 2013 the Diocese received approximately $200,000 in financial aid from the Council of the North, nearly equaling the amount that Archdeacon Njegovan is accused of misappropriating.

The Brandon Sun reports that the Diocese is seeking $250,000-Canadian ($228,000-US) for fraud, breach of trust, breach of contract and fraudulent misrepresentation and another $100,000-Canadian ($91,000-US) in punitive damages. The Diocese is also asking for the right to trace Noah Njegovan’s financial dealings and for the Court of Queen's Bench to place him under an injunction to prevent him from disposing of any of his assets.

So far court records show that Noah Njegovan has not filed a Statement of Defense in this latest court action against him.
Current Archdeacon Tom Stradwick has told VOL that the Brandon newspaper's breaking of the Diocese's latest suit against its previous archdeacon caught many parishioners unaware. The Diocese is now scrambling to prepare another public statement to be read this Sunday from the pulpit to more fully inform the wider church membership of the latest legal developments.

Following the former Archdeacon's disgrace, the Diocese implemented new steps to ensure a tighter, more detailed and thorough oversight of diocesan finances. Bishop Njegovan's current executive assistant is Greig Scott, a certified financial planner and a layman.

Noah Njegovan's name no longer shows up on the diocesan list of clergy. His clerical license has been suspended as he has been inhibited. He is reported to be living in Rosenort, which is located 30 miles south of Winnipeg.

Mary Ann Mueller is a journalist living in Texas. She is a regular contributor to VirtueOnline.