Northern Ont. woman faces fraud charge over $50K email scam

A stock illustration of the concept of email banking fraud. (File photo/PixalBay/Mohmaed_Hassan)

A 50-year-old local woman has been charged with fraud over $5,000 following a joint investigation involving Sault Ste. Marie police and the RCMP.

The alleged fraud occurred in August 2024 when a Nova Scotia business paid a vendor approximately $50,366 for services – only to later discover the payment had been processed twice. The RCMP in Wolfville, N.S., launched an investigation and determined the accused had fraudulently used an email address to obtain the duplicate payment.

“The RCMP notified our service, and through the investigation, detectives confirmed the accused resides in Sault Ste. Marie,” police said in a news release Wednesday.

The woman turned herself in at the Police Services Building on Second Line East on June 27 where she was arrested without incident.

The accused was released on an undertaking and is scheduled to appear in court on September 8.