A 68-year-old former payroll administrator at a transport company in Edmonton, Canada, has been charged in connection with a CAN$1.4 million (US$1.1 million) payroll fraud.
Edmonton police allege that Maureen Burns falsified pay cheques in the name of former employees at the company where she used to work - which has not been named - between 2007 and 2014. According to Global News, she has been charged with one count of fraud over CAN$5,000 (US$3,796) and one of theft over CAN$5,000 (US$3,796).
Burns allegedly created false payroll deposits for more than 500 employees who were no longer with the company. She changed their banking information and falsified pay cheques deposited into one of five bank accounts registered in her name, the police alleged.
"Through these transactions, Burns fraudulently transferred CAN$1.2 million (US$910,000) into her accounts, with an additional CAN$322,332 (US$244,682) paid to the Canadian government from the company in taxes and other payroll deductions as a result of the fraud,” the police said.
The scheme was discovered in 2014 when reports revealed that a staff member who was no longer employed by the company had been paid.
Emma Woollacott is a freelance business journalist. Her work has appeared in a wide range of publications, including the Guardian, the Times, Forbes and the BBC.
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A 68-year-old former payroll administrator at a transport company in Edmonton, Canada, has been charged in connection with a CAN$1.4 million (US$1.1 million) payroll fraud.
Edmonton police allege that Maureen Burns falsified pay cheques in the name of former employees at the company where she used to work - which has not been named - between 2007 and 2014. According to Global News, she has been charged with one count of fraud over CAN$5,000 (US$3,796) and one of theft over CAN$5,000 (US$3,796).
Burns allegedly created false payroll deposits for more than 500 employees who were no longer with the company. She changed their banking information and falsified pay cheques deposited into one of five bank accounts registered in her name, the police alleged.
"Through these transactions, Burns fraudulently transferred CAN$1.2 million (US$910,000) into her accounts, with an additional CAN$322,332 (US$244,682) paid to the Canadian government from the company in taxes and other payroll deductions as a result of the fraud,” the police said.
The scheme was discovered in 2014 when reports revealed that a staff member who was no longer employed by the company had been paid.
Emma Woollacott is a freelance business journalist. Her work has appeared in a wide range of publications, including the Guardian, the Times, Forbes and the BBC.
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