A former chartered accountant has pleaded guilty to skimming money from the payroll returns of executives at the Mosaic Potash mine in Esterhazy.

Crown prosecutors allege James Besler bilked the Canada Revenue Agency out of more than $200,000 by underreporting the executives' income and filing false financial statements.

The agency caught onto the scheme after finding significant discrepancies between the employee's tax documents and the ones prepared by Besler.

Besler also pleaded guilty to defrauding the accounting firm he managed in Esterhazy out of $1.1 million from 1994 to 2006.

In addition, he failed to report income totalling $360,000 and evaded personal income tax of more than $100,000.

Besler's sentencing on charges of tax evasion and fraud is scheduled for Aug 23. He could face six years in prison and thousands of dollars in fines.