Employee arrested, accused of posting $80,000 in refunds to her own credit cards

A woman has been arrested after she allegedly defrauded her employer on the North Shore of more than $80,000, according to North Vancouver RCMP.

Mounties say the woman would refund large purchases onto her personal credit cards over a period of months while working at the business.

Cst. Mansoor Sahak says the woman was entrusted with running the finances of the business while the owner was on a trip.

“It was actually the financial institution that contacted the business owner saying: ‘hey, there is some fraudulent activity going on,’ so that’s how they discovered they were being defrauded in these refund frauds,” Sahak says.

Upon returning home, the owner discovered the fraudulent refunds and immediately called police.

The business and the woman accused are not being named because charges are still pending.

However, Mounties say the woman was from West Vancouver, in her 30’s and these fraudulent refunds occurred between June and September of 2021.

Our investigators worked diligently to gather evidence and prepared several Judicial Authorizations in an effort to further the investigation, Cst. Mansoor Sahak shared in a release.

The investigation is ongoing, and officers anticipate recommending charges to BC Prosecution Service in the near future against the woman, who is no longer an employee of the business.

If found guilty of theft over $5,000 the woman could spend up to ten years in prison.

Cst. Sahak says the takeaway for business owners is to keep a close eye on financial records and to call police when they feel something is not right.

by Global News