A Yukon resident has been charged by the RCMP’s Provincial Financial Crime Team for embezzling thousands of dollars in emergency benefits while employed by the Canadian Revenue Agency (CRA).
Between April 2020 and January 2021, the accused is alleged to have fraudulently obtained nearly $20,000 from the federal government by claiming the Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB) and Canada Recovery Caregiving Benefit (CRCB) while working as a full-time employee of the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) in Alberta. Following a comprehensive investigation that was initiated after the file was referred to the RCMP by the CRA, a warrant was issued for the individual’s arrest in July 2023.
On August 10, Melissa Jensen Webb, 39, a resident of Dawson City, Y.T., was arrested and charged with several offences including Fraud Over $5,000; Unauthorized use of computer to commit fraud; and Breach of trust by a public officer.
Jensen Webb is scheduled to appear in Stony Plain Provincial Court on September 20, 2023.
“The act of accessing and altering data on any internal database is an extreme abuse of one’s position. By manipulating these systems, the accused personally benefitted from fraudulent payments,” said Sgt. John Lamming from the Provincial Financial Crime Team
The Provincial Financial Crime Team is a specialized unit under the RCMP Federal Policing program that conducts investigations relating to multi-jurisdictional serious fraud, investment scams and local political corruption.
