SASKATOON — The City of Saskatoon says all of the $1 million it lost in an online scam earlier this year has been returned.
City lawyer Christine Bogad says the city had recouped all but $345,000, which was tied up in an Ontario court.
A judge ordered return of the funds last month and, because no one filed an appeal before Monday’s deadline, the money has been released from a trust back to the city.
In August, fraudsters electronically impersonated the chief financial officer of a construction company that had a contract with the city.
The culprit asked to have a payment sent to a new bank account and the city complied.
The city hired experts to trace and recover most of the money, but outstanding funds were the subject of a court hearing, because three parties claimed they had also been victims of the scheme.
The city said a judge found none of those parties provided enough evidence for a trial.
“All the money stolen in the fraud scheme is now back in the city’s hands,” Bogad said in a release Tuesday.
“The passing of this deadline brings the case to a close.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 24, 2019
The Canadian Press
The Canadian Press
