In a release from Royal Canadian Mounted Police Federal Policing Central Region, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police announced charges against eight individuals from Ottawa, Gatineau and Montreal in connection with a cyber-enabled fraud targeting the Canada Emergency Response Benefit program administered by the Canada Revenue Agency. Investigators said the scheme involved stolen identities, unauthorized access to taxpayer accounts, changes to banking information and the redirection of benefit payments, with fraudulent claims linked to the accused totaling about CAD 364,000. The case stems from a joint investigation launched in August 2020 by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police International Anti-Corruption Team within Sensitive and International Investigations and the Cybercrime Investigative Team into an attack on the Canada Revenue Agency online portal. Charges include fraud over CAD 5,000 and, for some defendants, possession of identity information with intent to commit an indictable offence. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police said the investigation was supported by the Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada, the Canada Revenue Agency and the Forensic Accounting and Management Group. The accused are scheduled to appear in court in Montreal on July 7, 2026. One of the eight defendants had already been charged on May 29, 2025 in relation to the same investigation.
Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada2026-05-20
Royal Canadian Mounted Police charge eight individuals over Canada Emergency Response Benefit cyber fraud involving about CAD 364,000
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police Federal Policing Central Region has charged eight individuals in a cyber-enabled fraud targeting the Canada Emergency Response Benefit program, involving stolen identities, unauthorized access to taxpayer accounts and redirected payments totaling about CAD 364,000. The case stems from a joint investigation into an attack on the Canada Revenue Agency online portal, with charges including fraud over CAD 5,000 and possession of identity information with intent to commit an indictable offence, supported by the Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada and the Canada Revenue Agency.