In early February of 2024, the Winnipeg Police Service was alerted to the report of employees of a privately-owned security company believed to be involved in payroll fraud and financial mismanagement.
The owner of the business noted the suspicious payroll activity between May, 2022 and August, 2023, and reported the activity to police. The Financial Crime Unit initiated a months’ long investigation regarding the significant misappropriation of funds involving two identified suspects.
During their investigation, it was learned that an adult male employed as the company’s staffing manager and an adult female employed as an operations manager tasked with payroll administration, worked together to inflate his work hours resulting in a significant overage in pay.
Investigators learned the payroll was adjusted and processed to match hours falsely submitted by the male employee resulting in a pay overage in excess of $72,000 dollars (CDN).
On June 25, 2024, the female suspect attended police headquarters at 245 Smith Street and turned herself in to investigators.
Ana Patricia PEREIRA DE JESUS, 32, of Winnipeg is charged with Fraud Over $5,000, Theft Over $5,000, and Mischief to Data.
On November 27, 2024, the male suspect attended police headquarters at 245 Smith Street and turned himself in to investigators.
A 25-year-old of Winnipeg is facing charges of Fraud Over $5,000 and Mischief to Data.
Both were released on Appearance Notices as mandated by the Criminal Code.