Over one-third of $1M recovered from fraud scheme that targeted City of Saskatoon

Over one-third of the funds stolen from the City of Saskatoon through a fraud scheme have been recovered.

Someone electronically impersonated the CFO of Allan Construction and asked for a change in banking information, according to city officials.

The city complied, resulting in the company’s next contract payment of $1.04 million to be deposited in the alleged fraudster’s bank account.

The fraud was identified on Aug. 12.

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City officials announced Thursday that most of the remaining stolen money has been frozen by a court order made by an Ontario Superior Court judge on Aug. 16.

“Recovery of these funds continues to be a top priority,” the city’s interim CFO, Clae Hack, said in a press release.

“We’re encouraged to have over a third of the stolen money returned this early in the process.”

WATCH (Aug. 19, 2019): Progress made in City of Saskatoon’s efforts to get back $1M stolen through fraud

1:36 Progress made in City of Saskatoon’s efforts to get back $1M stolen through fraud

A formal public report will come to fruition once recovery efforts come to a close, city officials said.

The city continues to work on the recovery of funds with banking institutions, the Saskatoon Police Service and a legal team based in Toronto.