A suspended Mountie on trial for fraud testified Friday that his former spouse had financial problems she tried to pin on him.

Trent Wessner is on trial, accused of a single count of fraud for allegedly taking delivery of a pair of $1,000 shelving units from Costco and then claiming they were never delivered.

Wessner took the stand in his own defence in provincial court. Despite several witnesses testifying they saw the shelving units during a housewarming party in the then-couple’s family room of their new home, Wessner testified they weren’t delivered and weren’t there in early September 2010.

“The Skyline towers (shelving units) were not at 696 Harrington Road on that night,” a smiling Wessner told judge Ronald Caryer.

Wessner testified that he broke up with Const. Randi Love, a fellow Mountie, in April 2011. She moved out the next month.

It was only after the couple split that Love told a senior RCMP member in Kamloops that Wessner reported to Costco the units were never delivered, when in fact they were in the house.

Love testified Thursday that Wessner was angry the units were left outside the couple’s home by a delivery driver. That’s when Wessner came up with the plan to claim they were never delivered, she said.

Wessner said he had to make three loans of $15,000 to Love while they lived together for about 10 months because she was delinquent on credit cards, taxes and bills. After she moved out, he had to take her to small claims court to get back $10,000.

He said Love originally hired a lawyer who demanded he pay her $29,000, and return furniture and jewelry from her past marriage.

Wessner testified when a police investigator first approached him, “I was expecting to be accused of stealing her jewelry.”

Earlier Friday, Love’s mother, Gail Love, testified she recalls placing a piece of paper on top of one of the units at the housewarming party.

She also told the court that Wessner spoke to her about the delivery of the units being left outside his garage door.

“He was livid. He went on and on about it,” she said. “On the way home I said to my husband, ‘I don’t understand his anger.’ He said ‘Neither do I.’”

Randi Love testified Thursday that’s when Wessner came up with the plan to tell Costco the units weren’t delivered.

The trial was adjourned Friday and is expected to continue at a later date.