Worker used forged cheques and submitted approximately 5,500 fraudulent rebate applications, police say
A former sales employee at a Winnipeg building product supplier has been charged after allegedly embezzling nearly $4.2 million through a rebate fraud scheme, according to the Winnipeg Police Service.
The Winnipeg Police Service reported that its Financial Crimes Unit launched an investigation in October 2024, after receiving a complaint from the supplier about fraudulent activity involving a rebate programme for business clients. Police allege that, between April 2016 and April 2024, the former employee registered four fictitious home building companies and created fake employees. Using forged cheques, he submitted approximately 5,500 fraudulent rebate applications and collected almost $4.2 million in rebates.
The employee was terminated for unrelated reasons in June 2023 but continued to submit fraudulent rebate claims after his departure. The supplier later discovered the fictitious accounts and claims, and notified police.
The Financial Crimes Unit linked the former employee to the fraudulent activity. On Oct. 8, 2025, the 50-year-old man turned himself in to investigators. He has been charged with Fraud Over $5,000, Forgery, and Use of a Forged Document, and was released on an Undertaking to appear in court at a later date, according to the Winnipeg Police Service.
Previously, the City of Ottawa fired a municipal employee implicated in a kickback scheme that funneled thousands of dollars from local landlords in exchange for inflated rental agreements under housing benefit programs.
From a legal standpoint, embezzlement means the fraudulent appropriation of property or funds by a person who was lawfully entrusted with them, typically in the course of employment or a fiduciary duty, according to El Haddad, Avocats.
“Under the Canadian Criminal Code, it is a financial crime that is prosecuted as a form of theft or breach of trust, depending on the circumstances,” they said. “The key legal element that distinguishes embezzlement from other theft offences is the existence of a prior relationship of trust between the accused and the victim.”
Previously, a former provincial government employee altered documents and accessed government databases without authorization, obtaining $650,000 from participants in the Saskatchewan Immigrant Nominee Program (SINP), according to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP).
