RCMP charges Ottawa consultant for fraudulently overbilling federal government

The RCMP logo is seen outside the force's 'E' division headquarters in Surrey, B.C., on March 16, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

A federal consultant based in Ottawa is facing fraud charges for allegedly overbilling the federal government between 2020 and 2022, according to police.

The RCMP says Public Services and Procurement Canada launched an investigation in the summer of 2021 into a federal consultant who “concurrently worked on multiple Shared Services Canada contracts held by multiple different private sector contractors reporting to multiple different technical authorities.”

“Evidence indicated that the consultant had submitted fraudulent timesheets that resulted in overbilling between May 2020 and June 2022,” the RCMP said in a media release on Thursday.

“PSPC referred the case to the RCMP for a possible criminal investigation.”

The RCMP says its Sensitive and International Investigations Unit opened an investigation “after it was determined that the consultant may have been fraudulently overbilling.”

“Investigators obtained statements from prime contractors while examining timesheets to confirm that the consultant had overbilled the Government of Canada on separate contracts,” the RCMP said.

“The RCMP also uncovered that while he was collecting HST, the contractor failed to pay his remittance to the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA).”

Andrew McDermott, 62, of Ottawa and his company AM Government Consulting Inc. face two counts of Fraud over $5,000, according to police.

Public Services and Procurement Canada (PSPC) said in a statement that it announced in March 2024 that investigations found three subcontractors were suspected of fraudulently billing on contract work across a number of separate federal departments, agencies and Crown corporations.

“PSPC took immediate action to suspend the security status of the three subcontractors in question, and none currently hold security credentials with PSPC,” the department said.

The PSPC said it referred the three cases to the RCMP, and the RCMP announced Thursday it had laid charges against “one of these subcontractors.”

“PSPC is pleased that the RCMP chose to pursue this investigation,” PSPC said.

“Today’s announcement indicates that PSPC is committed to ensuring the continued integrity of Canada’s federal procurement system.”

McDermott is scheduled to appear at the Ottawa Courthouse on May 5.

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