Saskatchewan crown corp loses thousands to employee fraud, theft

Saskatchewan lost thousands of dollars to a number of employee fraud and theft incidents that were reported over the past two months.

The Saskatchewan Health Authority (SHA), SaskPower and Integrated Justice Services all fell victims to workers’ fraudulent activities, reported CTV News, citing provincial government data.

One worker at SHA took home a total of $29,660 over the past two years from paid overtime shifts that weren’t worked, according to the report.

Another SHA employee took a parking transponder from an SHA vehicle and used it to access parking for their own personal vehicle for 10 months. That resulted in a loss of $1,117.

A third SHA employee took supplies and equipment for personal use leading to the loss of $2,000 in May.

Previously, two female employees of a lottery retail outlet in Ontario were arrested and are facing charges for their alleged involvement in claiming of a prize from a stolen winning ticket.

Timesheet fraud, misappropriation of funds

Meanwhile, a SaskPower employee committed timesheet fraud worth $1,500. The worker was suspended without pay for five days and demoted, reported CTV News.

At the Integrated Justice Services, six employees are suspected to be involved in a fraud scheme that cost the employer $1,235.06.

Between 2016 and 2019, the six workers are suspected to have misappropriated the amount of transfer payments to a community based organization that is funded by the provincial government.

The six workers are no longer with the employer, and the incident is under police investigation.

In 2023, Toronto’s Fraud and Waste Hotline received 1,054 complaints made up of roughly 1,450 allegations.

Here’s what employers should do if they suspect an employee of fraud.

How do you prevent employees from committing fraud?

Here are some ways to prevent employee fraud, as Daniel Kehrer, founder & managing director of BizBest Media Corp., shared via SCORE.org:

1. Be alert to key indicators of potential theft such as:
   • Sudden, apparent devotion to work and working late.
   • Lifestyles well above salary levels.
   • Strong objections to procedural changes related to financial, inventory or supply matters.
   • Drugs and alcohol abuse.
   • Moonlighting with materials available at the business.
   • Evidence of compulsive gambling, persistent borrowing, or bad check writing.
2. Check on what your employees do, but don’t look over their shoulder every minute.
3. Use serially pre-numbered purchase orders and always verify incoming orders.
4. Use serially pre-numbered sales slips and conduct weekly audits.
5. Make unannounced internal audits and have a yearly audit performed by an outside firm.
6. Restrict access to computer terminals and records. Periodically change entry codes and check regularly to ensure that security procedures are in effect.
7. Track your business checks.
8. Separate receiving, storekeeping, and shipping functions. Physical inventories should be done annually by individuals who are not responsible for inventory records.
9. Make mail-opening and posting separate functions. Record checks and cash in appropriate registers and stamp checks for deposit only.
10. Provide a way for employees to report theft or fraud by co-workers.