8 charged after Durham Region cleaning business defrauded of more than $3M: police

Eight people have been charged and five suspects are outstanding after a Durham Region business was defrauded of more than $3 million over several years, police say. 

The investigation focused on a woman, 53, who worked as an operations manager the cleaning company ServiceMaster and allegedly orchestrated the fraud scheme, Durham police said at a news conference Thursday. 

Acting Det. Brad Chapman said the alleged fraud scheme played out over more than a decade and the company's total losses remain unknown.

It went undetected, he said, because it was allegedly committed by a worker "holding that position for so long and being trusted in that position,”

Police said the woman, who is from Clarington, Ont., diverted employee wages into her own bank account, and redirected pay from some employees to her family members — including her children.

That money sent to her children was used to make mortgage payments for a home, Chapman said. The property was later sold at a profit, and the proceeds were allegedly laundered back to the woman and her husband, he said. 

The woman is also accused of submitting false subcontractor invoices to ServiceMaster for work that never happened, Chapman said.

He said ServiceMaster issued 270 cheques to pay for these fraudulent invoices. Those cheques were issued to eight subcontractor companies and deposited into 22 different accounts. 

“The investigation revealed extensive money laundering activity, including the use of cheque‑cashing businesses, multiple financial institutions, and the movement of funds across Durham Region, the Greater Toronto Area, and globally,” Durham police said in a news release. 

Some of the money laundering activity happened in South America, Chapman said. 

The woman turned herself into police at the end of January, Chapman said. 

She has been charged with fraud over $5,000, theft over $5,000 and possession of proceeds over $5,000. 

The woman also faces charges of uttering forged documents and laundering proceeds of crime. 

All eight people who have been charged, plus the five suspects, are “somewhat related to each other,” Chapman said.