Ontario employer charged over million-dollar employment insurance fraud

An Ontario employer has been charged with two counts of Fraud Over $5000, contrary to the Criminal Code, after she allegedly defrauded the federal government of over $1 million in Employment Insurance (EI) benefits.

Service Canada informed the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) Greater Toronto Area (GTA) about a company suspected of submitting fictitious Records of Employment (ROE) and medical notes, leading to EI benefits being claimed unlawfully.

An investigation by the RCMP found that the company, C2S2 Consulting Inc., operated by 37-year-old Xueting XU, also known as Cici Tsui, alleged to have submitted fraudulent documentation to Service Canada for EI benefits on behalf of hundreds of clients.

“These criminal charges send a strong message to the Canadian public that the RCMP is committed to protecting the integrity of Canada's Federal Government programs and that frauds against the government will be investigated and prosecuted,” said Staff Sergeant Ken Derakhshan, of the RCMP Transnational Serious and Organized Crime Section.

In September 2020, an economist warned that more than two million Canadians will be worse off transitioning from the Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB) program to the EI program.

In March, the federal government introduced Bill C-24 to extend the employment insurance (EI) program to a maximum of 50 weeks for claims established between Sept. 27, 2020 and Sept. 25, 2021.

Previously, Saskatchewan company 101110516 Saskatchewan Ltd., operating as Jones E Property Maintenance, was fined $9,800 after pleading guilty to eight counts of failing to pay wages within 14 days of termination of employment.

In October 2020, Bernard Poulin, founder and CEO of Groupe S.M. International Inc., an engineering firm, was charged with having solicited political contributions from his employees and from an employee's spouse while offering them a reimbursement from the company.