Surrey police and RCMP financial crimes officers are investigating allegations that a former City of Surrey finance clerk defrauded the city of more than $2.5 million by cutting hundreds of cheques to accounts associated with herself and her boutique cake baking business.
According to a search warrant obtained by the CBC, the woman — who the CBC is not naming as she has not been charged — quit her job in the finance department in January 2024 after she was questioned about what appeared to be a forged signature on some paperwork.
That irregularity allegedly led to the discovery of 183 fraudulent cheques written out to the woman’s former legal name, her mother and her side business — drawing on funds kept in accounts that had been dormant for years.
‘Committing fraud since 2017’
The court documents say the city’s chief financial officer called RCMP last January “to report that his staff within the finance department had uncovered a fraud.”
A warrant issued in March to search the woman’s work computer claims Surrey city CFO Kam Grewal told police the woman “had been committing fraud since 2017, by exploiting her position and had defrauded the city of more than $2 million.”
The woman did not respond to messages left Wednesday and Thursday on a cell phone associated with her business, which identifies her by name. The business appears to have folded and its website has been taken down.
The court documents give an overview of the civic deposit process the woman is suspected of manipulating to reward herself.
“The City collects deposits from developers, construction companies and individuals. The deposits are then returned to them once they complete their projects and/or meet certain conditions set by the City,” the search warrant says.
“The City collects thousands of deposits every year and some deposits have been with the city for over 20 to 40 years, as projects can be delayed, abandoned or the company has some other issues.”
Grewal allegedly told police the woman “had access to the City databases that had allowed her to see the details about deposits and allowed her to change the names of the payee for the cheques to be issued.”
‘Cheques that she was not expecting’
According to the search warrant, the woman was initially suspended without pay and told to leave the office immediately on Jan. 25, 2024, after being confronted about the forgery.
The following day, when the suspect would normally have gone to the accounts payable department to pick up cheques written as legitimate deposit returns, a clerk from the engineering department was sent in her place.
The replacement clerk “was given 2 extra cheques that she was not expecting” — one made out to the suspect’s mother and the other to a cake baking business.
“It was common knowledge in the office that [the woman] also had a cake baking business on the side,” the search warrant says.
“It was also well known that she was an avid gambler. [She] would often talk about the experiences she had.”
The next week, the woman sent an email to say she was resigning effective immediately. In the hours that followed, she allegedly called the engineering clerk asking her to bring the two extra cheques “down to the reception so she could just pick them up.”
The clerk “thought this was odd,” the court document says.
Tracking changes to accounts
According to the search warrant, the woman’s supervisors ultimately discovered a total of 183 cheques for a total of $2,537,599.67 written out to the three associated accounts between 2017 and 2024.
They tracked the woman’s unique user ID to see where she allegedly made changes to addresses and payees linked to deposit account holders in order to carry out the fraud.
The court documents lay out a complicated process that starts with the assigning of a unique “D-vendor” number to every person who leaves a deposit with the city.
In one example cited in the search warrant, the woman’s user ID was used to insert her former name and current address into a D-vendor account set up for a supplier who gave the city a $9,943 deposit in 2012.
In other examples, the woman’s user ID was allegedly used to withdraw money from long-dormant D-vendor accounts to ones that had just been paid out — changing the details on those accounts to issue new cheques to her cake business or mother.
Last fall, police allegedly attempted to obtain an audio statement from the woman’s mother, who “appeared quite elderly based on her appearance and slow movements.”
According to the search warrant, the woman’s mother told officers she did not want to talk to police.
City response paints different picture
The city responded to the CBC’s questions about the case Thursday afternoon after being told the CBC planned to run a story Friday morning. Rather than respond directly to the CBC’s request, the city issued a media-wide news release.
The release does not refer to the search warrant’s assertion that the alleged fraud was discovered as a result of a chance mistake.
The city claims the irregularities were discovered in response to the mayor’s “mandate to ensure fiscally responsible government and to safeguarding every taxpayer dollar.”
“Once the irregularities were discovered, the City immediately commenced an internal review and engaged external forensic specialists. The matter was also immediately reported to the Surrey RCMP who are conducting a criminal investigation,” the release says.
“Residents can be assured that decisive steps have been taken to protect public funds and to recover the full amount on their behalf. Because the matter is before the courts, the City is unable to comment further at this time.”
The city also claims to have initiated legal proceedings that do not name the clerk.
None of the allegations contained in the search warrant have been proven in court.
