Over $2,000,000 Alleged in EI Fraud Arrest

The Kitchener Detachment of the  Royal Canadian Mounted Police have arrested and charged a Kitchener based bookkeeper who they allege help defraud the employment insurance system of  over $2,000,000.

Phuong Amy Nguyen (known as Amy), has been charged with  fraud over $5,000, forgery, uttering forged documents and possession of property obtained by crime.  She was arrested at her home based business in Kitchener on Tuesday.  Nguyen appeared in court later Tuesday for a bail hearing, but remained in custody as of Tuesday night.

Police allege that the accused,  issued fraudulent and forged Records of Employment (ROEs) to over two hundred individuals in the Greater Toronto Area and the Region of Waterloo.  These false ROEs are said to have resulted in over two million dollars of Employment Insurance benefits being paid out over the past five years.  The investigation revealed that each of the claimants paid the accused between $2,000 and $5,000 for this service.

Nguyen is accused of making the forged records of employment and sending them in electronically to Service Canada.  She is said to have used information from 23 different businesses to complete the forms.  All but two are believed to have had no idea this was going on, and the other two businesses are owned by Nguyen.

“This type of fraud has a very negative impact on the integrity of our Governments programs”, said S/Sgt. Pierre Gagnon.  “The RCMP will continue to vigorously investigate these frauds and bring those responsible before justice”.  “Each and every arrest sends a message and makes a difference”.

As for the more than 230 fraudulent EI claimants who paid Nguyen, Service Canada may be looking into the individuals, but it isn’t know whether action will be taken against them.

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