Former City of Surrey finance clerk suspected of defrauding city of $2.5 million

Jason Proctor · CBC News

· Posted: May 08, 2025 6:39 PM EDT | Last Updated: 31 minutes ago

Surrey constabulary and RCMP fiscal crimes officers are investigating allegations that a erstwhile City of Surrey concern clerk defrauded the metropolis of much than $2.5 cardinal by cutting hundreds of cheques to accounts associated with herself and her boutique barroom baking business.

According to a hunt warrant obtained by the CBC, the woman — who the CBC is not naming arsenic she has not been charged — quit her occupation successful the concern section successful January 2024 aft she was questioned astir what appeared to beryllium a forged signature on immoderate paperwork.

That irregularity allegedly led to the discovery of 183 fraudulent cheques written retired to the woman's erstwhile ineligible name, her parent and her broadside concern — drafting connected funds kept successful accounts that had been dormant for years.

'Committing fraud since 2017'

The tribunal documents accidental the city's main fiscal serviceman called RCMP past January "to study that his unit wrong the concern section had uncovered a fraud."

A warrant issued successful March to hunt the woman's enactment machine claims Surrey metropolis CFO Kam Grewal told constabulary the pistillate "had been committing fraud since 2017, by exploiting her presumption and had defrauded the metropolis of much than $2 million."

The pistillate did not respond to messages near Wednesday and Thursday connected a compartment telephone associated with her business, which identifies her by name. The concern appears to person folded and its website has been taken down.

The tribunal documents springiness an overview of the civic deposit process the pistillate is suspected of manipulating to reward herself.

"The City collects deposits from developers, operation companies and individuals. The deposits are past returned to them erstwhile they implicit their projects and/or conscionable definite conditions acceptable by the City," the hunt warrant says.

"The City collects thousands of deposits each twelvemonth and immoderate deposits have been with the metropolis for implicit 20 to 40 years, arsenic projects tin beryllium delayed, abandoned oregon the institution has immoderate different issues."

Grewal allegedly told constabulary the pistillate "had entree to the City databases that had allowed her to spot the details astir deposits and allowed her to alteration the names of the payee for the cheques to beryllium issued."

'Cheques that she was not expecting'

According to the hunt warrant, the pistillate was initially suspended without wage and told to permission the bureau instantly connected Jan. 25, 2024, aft being confronted astir the forgery.

The pursuing day, erstwhile the fishy would usually person gone to the accounts payable section to prime up cheques written arsenic morganatic deposit returns, a clerk from the engineering section was sent successful her place.

The replacement clerk "was fixed 2 other cheques that she was not expecting" — 1 made retired to the suspect's parent and the different to a barroom baking business.

"It was communal cognition successful the bureau that [the woman] also had a barroom baking concern connected the side," the hunt warrant says.

"It was besides good known that she was an avid gambler. [She] would often speech astir the experiences she had."

The adjacent week, the pistillate sent an email to accidental she was resigning effectual immediately. In the hours that followed, she allegedly called the engineering clerk asking her to bring the 2 other cheques "down to the reception truthful she could conscionable prime them up."

The clerk "thought this was odd," the tribunal papers says.

Tracking changes to accounts

According to the hunt warrant, the woman's supervisors yet discovered a full of 183 cheques for a full of $2,537,599.67 written retired to the 3 associated accounts betwixt 2017 and 2024.

They tracked the woman's unsocial idiosyncratic ID to spot wherever she allegedly made changes to addresses and payees linked to deposit relationship holders successful bid to transportation retired the fraud.

The tribunal documents lay out a analyzable process that starts with the assigning of a unsocial "D-vendor" number to each idiosyncratic who leaves a deposit with the city.

In one example cited successful the hunt warrant, the woman's idiosyncratic ID was used to insert her erstwhile sanction and existent code into a D-vendor relationship acceptable up for a supplier who gave the metropolis a $9,943 deposit successful 2012.

In different examples, the woman's idiosyncratic ID was allegedly utilized to retreat wealth from long-dormant D-vendor accounts to ones that had conscionable been paid out — changing the details connected those accounts to contented caller cheques to her barroom concern oregon mother.

Last fall, constabulary allegedly attempted to get an audio connection from the woman's mother, who "appeared rather aged based connected her quality and dilatory movements."

According to the hunt warrant, the woman's parent told officers she did not privation to speech to police.

City effect paints antithetic picture

The metropolis responded to the CBC's questions astir the case Thursday day aft being told the CBC planned to tally a communicative Friday morning. Rather than respond straight to the CBC's request, the metropolis issued a media-wide quality release.

The merchandise does not notation to the hunt warrant's assertion that the alleged fraud was discovered arsenic a effect of a accidental mistake.

The metropolis claims the irregularities were discovered successful effect to the mayor's "mandate to guarantee fiscally liable authorities and to safeguarding each payer dollar."

"Once the irregularities were discovered, the City instantly commenced an interior reappraisal and engaged outer forensic specialists. The substance was besides instantly reported to the Surrey RCMP who are conducting a transgression investigation," the merchandise says.

"Residents tin beryllium assured that decisive steps person been taken to support nationalist funds and to retrieve the afloat magnitude connected their behalf. Because the substance is earlier the courts, the City is incapable to remark further astatine this time."

The metropolis besides claims to person initiated ineligible proceedings that bash not sanction the clerk.

None of the allegations contained successful the hunt warrant person been proven successful court.