8 arrested, 5 more wanted in connection with $3M, 15-year-long fraud of Durham Region business

Durham police provide an update on the four-year investigation dubbed ‘Project Fletcher’ to crackdown on financial fraud in the region.

Thirteen people are accused of defrauding a Durham Region business out of more than $3 million over a 15-year period, Durham police announced Thursday.

Police say that a “complex, long-term” fraud investigation dubbed “Project Fletcher” first began in November 2021.

The investigation focused on a 54-year-old female employee, police said, who worked as the operations manager with a company called ServiceMaster.

“Financial irregularities were identified following a corporate restructuring, prompting an internal audit and notification to police in November 2021,” a news release from police states.

Investigators allege that the female employee orchestrated a “sophisticated fraud scheme involving the diversion of employee wages, the redirection of payroll funds to other individuals—including family members—and the submission of fraudulent subcontractor invoices for work that was never performed."

A forensic audit identified approximately 270 fraudulent cheques issued to eight subcontractor companies and deposited into 22 bank accounts, according to police.

Investigators said they believe the fraud may have spanned more than 15 years, but the financial review period was limited to January 2015 through October 2021 due to a “lack of available financial records.”

Losses to ServiceMaster during the six‑year period investigative period were more than $3 million.

“This investigation was extensive and highly complex,” Det. Brad Chapman said at a news conference on Thursday.

“It resulted in 27 judicial orders, nearly 80,000 pages of financial records, 30 large financial data sets, and close to 800 investigative file attachments.”

The Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada (FINTRAC) was consulted to help analyze banking activity of the suspected fraudsters and found that money was laundered across Canada, the United States, and Latin America, Chapman said.

“FINTRAC also identified links to a large, interconnected professional money laundering network operating in the Greater Toronto Area,” he added.

That money laundering activity included the use of cheque‑cashing businesses, multiple financial institutions, and the movement of funds across Durham Region, the Greater Toronto Area, and globally, police said.

Eight people have been arrested and charged as part of the investigation, including three from Clarington, three from Oshawa, one from Brampton, and one from the U.S. A full list of names and charges can be found here.

Five additional suspects remain outstanding, and police are asking anyone with information to contact them.

“Fraud is not slowing down and is becoming increasingly sophisticated,” Supt. Ryan Connolly said at Thursday’s news conference.

“Project Fletcher reflects this evolving threat. What initially appeared to be financial irregularities within a legitimate Durham Region business ultimately uncovered an alleged fraud scheme that was both sophisticated and sustained over many years.”