City Treasurer Wendy Stephanson says staff were informed of a possible irregularity related to a payment made by the city on Monday. “After further investigation by city staff, it was confirmed that the city was affected by an illegal act committed against a collaborating service,” Stephanson said in a statement to City Council. “Upon confirming the fraudulent transaction, staff immediately reported the incident to the city’s financial institution, the Ottawa police and the Auditor General.” Stephanson says the city is working with Ottawa police and its bank to raise funds, and staff have begun a comprehensive internal investigation. “The city will continue to work with police in their investigation into the incident and with the financial institution to secure and recover any of the fraudulent funds,” Stephenson said. “Staff can confirm that no personal information has been compromised or disclosed by the City of Ottawa.” Stephanson says no further information will be released due to the active police investigation. In 2019, the city of Ottawa was deceived by about $ 130,000 in an email fraud. The inspector general said the former city treasurer had fallen victim to a “whaling scam” after receiving an email from an address he thought belonged to city manager Steve Canellaco.
