Calgary Police have charged Monika MANHAS, 44,who is believed to have posed as a professional chartered accountant for a local oil and gas company, defrauding the company of $537,141.
“Between October 2013 and September 2015, the woman worked at the oil and gas company on a temporary contract posing as an accountant. She was also the sole administrator of the company’s third-party payroll system, and had sole access to the company credit card,” the police said.
According to the police, during this time, she allegedly set herself up as a full-time, salary-based employee on the company’s payroll system and used company funds to fraudulently pay herself $254,856.
It is believed the woman also used the company credit card to make extravagant and expensive purchases, totaling $29,483. The credit card was intended for small items for day-to-day office use.
The investigation also revealed that the woman wrote a total of 16 company cheques to herself and cashed them for a total of $65,280.
Additionally, she used company funds to pay off her own personal credit card, totaling $187,522, the police saidl
The fraudulent activity went unnoticed for an extended period of time, until the woman responded to a suspicious work email, sending a large sum of money to a supposed financial institution in China without first checking with company management.
In the following weeks, the company conducted their own investigation into the history of the woman’s financial transactions while she worked for the company and discovered a series of frauds and thefts. Police were notified in January 2016 and began investigating.
Due to a lengthy and complex investigation, and significant delays due to the COVID-19 pandemic, officers only recently received charge approval for the suspect based on the collected evidence.
On Thursday, Feb. 16, 2023, the suspect was arrested and charged.
Manhas will next appear in court on Thursday, March 30, 2023.
Anyone with information about this incident is asked to contact police by calling 403-266-1234. Tips can also be submitted anonymously to Crime Stoppers through any of the following methods:
