Former City of Surrey finance clerk suspected of defrauding city of $2.5 million

Surrey police and RCMP financial crimes officers are investigating allegations that a former City of Surrey finance clerk defrauded the city of more than $2.5 million by cutting hundreds of cheques to accounts associated with herself and her boutique cake baking business.

According to a search warrant obtained by the CBC, the woman — who the CBC is not naming as she has not been charged — quit her job in the finance department in January 2024 after she was questioned about what appeared to be a forged signature on some paperwork.

That irregularity allegedly led to the discovery of 183 fraudulent cheques written out to the woman's former legal name, her mother and her side business — drawing on funds kept in accounts that had been dormant for years.

The court documents say the city's chief financial officer called RCMP last January "to report that his staff within the finance department had uncovered a fraud."

A warrant issued in March to search the woman's work computer claims Surrey city CFO Kam Grewal told police the woman "had been committing fraud since 2017, by exploiting her position and had defrauded the city of more than $2 million."

The woman did not respond to messages left Wednesday and Thursday on a cell phone associated with her business, which identifies her by name. The business appears to have folded and its website has been taken down.

The court documents give an overview of the civic deposit process the woman is suspected of manipulating to reward herself.

"The City collects deposits from developers, construction companies and individuals. The deposits are then returned to them once they complete their projects and/or meet certain conditions set by the City," the search warrant says.

"The City collects thousands of deposits every year and some deposits have been with the city for over 20 to 40 years, as projects can be delayed, abandoned or the company has some other issues."

Grewal allegedly told police the woman "had access to the City databases that had allowed her to see the details about deposits and allowed her to change the names of the payee for the cheques to be issued."

According to the search warrant, the woman was initially suspended without pay and told to leave the office immediately on Jan. 25, 2024, after being confronted about the forgery.

The following day, when the suspect would normally have gone to the accounts payable department to pick up cheques written as legitimate deposit returns, a clerk from the engineering department was sent in her place.

The replacement clerk "was given 2 extra cheques that she was not expecting" — one made out to the suspect's mother and the other to a cake baking business.

"It was common knowledge in the office that [the woman] also had a cake baking business on the side," the search warrant says.