Brampton Residents Charged After Allegedly Ripping Off Government Services
Published December 13, 2017 at 6:00 am
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) have charged two Brampton residents for several offences after allegedly stealing money from government services.
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) have charged two Brampton residents for several offences after allegedly stealing money from government services.
The RCMP Toronto West Financial Crime Unit recently charged 82-year-old Carsten Mackay and 42-year-old Catherine Scollay after they collected an excess of $190,000 over 13 years from government agencies through a joint bank account.
The Brampton pair benefitted from overpayment of Old Age Security (OAS), Guaranteed Income Supplement (GIS) and Canada Pension Plan (CPP).
Initially, the complaint came from Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC)/Service Canada in December 2016, the RCMP say.
“The police investigation revealed that payments for OAS, GIS and CPP were obtained and deposited in a bank account,
said the RCMP in a recent news release. “It is alleged that an application for the benefits was initiated fraudulently by [Mackay], using the legitimate beneficiary’s identity before his death and the payments continued long after he passed away.”
Basically, Mackay and Scollay defrauded the federal government of almost $200,000 by using a dead individual’s identity.
Mackay has been charged with fraud over $5,000, two counts of uttering forged documents, two counts of forgery, and two counts of identity fraud.
Scollay has been charged with fraud over $5,000 and two counts of uttering forged documents.
Anyone with information regarding criminal activity is encouraged to contact their local police, the RCMP at 1-800-387-0020 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS.