North Vancouver RCMP say a woman has been charged after allegedly defrauding two businesses of an estimated $200,000 while acting as their accountant.
In a Thursday media release, Mounties said Allyson Steffensen of Squamish, B.C., was charged Feb. 16 with four counts of fraud over $5,000 and four counts of theft over $5,000.
RCMP said the investigation started in July 2019, when a business owner called police to report they suspected fraud was committed by their accountant.
Those offences allegedly happened between May 2019 and June 2019.
A year and a half later, in December 2020, a second business owner made a similar report to Mounties.
“This was a technically complex investigation,” North Vancouver RCMP Const. Mansoor Sahak said.
“The length of time required to gather that evidence and present it to BC Prosecution Service offer an example of how complex fraud files can be, and the diligence and investigational expertise of the officers who brought this investigation to this point.”
Sahak said RCMP have specialized units used to target fraudsters, but rely on the public to call police when they suspect something is wrong.