(980 CJME file photo)

By CKOM News Staff

Report says Ministry of Highways defrauded of more than $500K

May 1, 2023 | 12:05 PM

An act of fraud has cost the Saskatchewan government more than $500,000.

In the report of public losses among ministries and Crown corporations for the fourth quarter of the 2022-23 fiscal year, the Ministry of Highways reported a loss of $509,380 that occurred in March.

“Banking information was fraudulently changed by someone impersonating a supplier,” read the report that was issued Monday. “As a result, three payments to the supplier were redirected to an inappropriate bank account.”

The report said police are investigating and the ministry is “pursuing recovery of the loss.”

The Saskatchewan Housing Corporation reported a loss of $9,313 after rent payments were misappropriated by contracted managers.

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“Two Broadview Housing Authority contracted managers had previously resigned,” the report said. “The matter was reported to the police and is under investigation.”

The third public loss involved the Saskatchewan Heritage Foundation. The report said the foundation lost $8,500 when a contracted administrator “fraudulently inflated salary payments to themselves.”

The individual was fired and the money was recovered, plus interest, the report said. Police investigated, but charges weren’t filed.

The Saskatchewan Health Authority reported a loss of $1,070, the result of an employee based in Prince Albert taking money and tools from a supervisor’s office in late January.

After an internal investigation, the employee was fired. Prince Albert police were called, the report said, but they concluded their investigation without pursuing charges.

There weren’t any losses of money or property reported by the Ministry of Advanced Education at Saskatchewan Polytechnic or the province’s regional colleges.