The overwhelming generosity of Salvation Army donors was evident in the warehouses.

They were overflowing with playpens, deodorant, diapers, fruit cups, margarine, candy, bedding, expensive bikes, and so, so many toys from the Christmas Toy Mountain campaign.

Except these donations weren’t going to the shelters, food banks and needy children supported by the Salvation Army. They were being sold for profit.

The scheme to siphon off and sell “vast amounts” of donations was masterminded by David Rennie, the former executive director of the Salvation Army donation storage and distribution centre, according to a lengthy court decision released Wednesday.

Ontario Court Justice Sandra Bacchus found Rennie guilty of six fraud-related offences.

The scheme took place under the guise of selling surplus donations to wholesaler Umaish “Tony” Ramrattan who would use that money to buy goods the Salvation Army was in need of — like meat, canned protein and kosher food.

Instead, Rennie began allowing Ramrattan to pick the best donations — toys and food that was far from its expiry date — and take it to another warehouse and sell it. Records seized by police show Ramrattan took away far more in donations than he returned in purchased goods, Bacchus found.

Trucks laden with donations from Nestle and Sun laundry detergent were re-routed to this second warehouse rented by Ramrattan at a steep discount price because the owner believed it to be affiliated with the Salvation Army.

Staff at the Railside warehouse, the location of the donation centre, became concerned that their shelves were empty and the quality of the donations they were sending out were declining even while Rennie continued to authorize Ramrattan to take donations. And when Railside needed some of those donations back, Ramrattan said he’d have to charge them, Bacchus found.

But the staff did not report their concerns about this because Rennie told them “he had the authority to do what he pleased,” Bacchus said. There were also rumours that turned out to be unfounded that Rennie had fired two employees for complaining about him.

Another excuse Rennie gave for the re-routed donations was that they needed the extra storage space — an excuse that didn’t hold up because the shelves at Railside were becoming increasingly empty.

Rennie was a consultant who had been brought on to improve operations at the Toronto-based Salvation donation centre. He was hired as the executive director in January 2010 and the following year the location began handling donations for the whole central southeast division — including the GTA, Kingston and Ottawa.

In the spring of 2010 he was introduced to Ramrattan, an “approved vendor” who sometimes helped the Salvation Army source items at a good price — like when a men’s shelter was in urgent need of razors and toothbrushes.

By 2011, Ramrattan was at Railside almost daily and even when staff tried to intervene — like when they were low on food donations — Rennie would override them. By the summer of 2012, Ramrattan was taking between six and 12 skids of donations four times a week and returning three or four skids of product about every two or three weeks, one employee testified.

In the last six months of Rennie’s tenure all the product returned by Ramrattan had been previously donated to the Salvation Army, he said.

Search warrants conducted after the police became involved in the fall of 2012 found two warehouses linked to Ramrattan packed with toys, playpens, candy, diapers, personal care products and other donations including expensive bikes donated to the Salvation Army by the Premier’s office.

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“(Rennie) intentionally undertook a series of dishonest acts that allowed him to conceal his actions, convert donations to his own use and thereby cause deprivation to Salvation Army Railside,” Bacchus said in her ruling.

He lied to Railside staff and donors, lied by omissions to his bosses, destroyed evidence, moved “vast amounts” donations to be sold and took cash payments for donations, she said.

Bacchus noted that Rennie had a motive. Canada Revenue Agency documents seized from Rennie’s home by police show he owed $69,000. He made two payments of $500 towards that debt in January and February 2011.

It is unclear from the ruling just how many donations Rennie and Ramrattan took and how much they made from the sale of the donations, but Bacchus said the evidence that they were enriched through the scheme is “overwhelming.” In one example, she found Ramrattan sold 23 skids of toys for $7,000.

After the Salvation Army’s internal auditors conducted a routine audit in the summer of 2012, Don Butt, the donations coordinator and warehouse manager was pressured by warehouse staff to report allegations of fraud by Rennie and Ramrattan to the auditors. Police laid charges in November 2012.

Bacchus noted in her decision that the fraud was allowed to continue was because of the trust the people who worked close to him had in Rennie. Rennie’s supervisor was going through personal family troubles at the time and admitted he was not paying attention as closely as he could have.

Ramrattan had also been charged with several fraud-related charges but was acquitted on all counts. Bacchus ruled it was possible Ramrattan had been reassured by Rennie that what they were doing was allowed.

Charges laid on Rennie’s wife Diana Wang were withdrawn at an earlier date.

“The Salvation Army is pleased with the courts decision today,” spokesperson Andrew Burditt said. “When it comes to the potential of kids not receiving a toy at Christmastime, it’s a thing that breaks one’s heart, including mine and many people that worked at every level of the organization.”

Many of the Salvation Army employees who worked under Rennie told the court they felt betrayed and Burditt said that feeling was shared by many at the organization.

He said that changes have been made to strengthen their controls and training since the fraud, with recommendations from an external auditing firm. He says the Salvation Army has a whistleblower policy in place and encourages people to come forward without repercussions.

He said the organization is grateful for the support they received from donors and the public after the fraud came to light.

Rennie declined to comment following the ruling. A sentencing hearing has not yet been scheduled.