In December 2023, the City of Greater Sudbury was the victim of fraud.

In December 2023, the City of Greater Sudbury was the victim of fraud, where a payment was made to an unknown party posing as a contractor.

The fraud case involves a payment of $1.5 million made to an unknown party who posed as the contractor for the Lorraine Street Transitional Housing. The illegal activity was caught quickly by staff, and we are confident that we will be able to recover the majority of these funds. The process to recover these funds is lengthy and involves several outside agencies, such as the contractor, our insurer, banks and courts. We are very thankful for the quick and supportive actions from these partners, and from the police.

Municipalities, just like residents, are faced with complex issues of fraud. While we proactively work to prevent these types of occurrences, and are continuously evaluating and implementing changes to address them, fraud events are becoming increasingly sophisticated.

The Greater Sudbury Police Service is investigating, and we are performing a detailed internal review of the matter.

The timelines for the Lorraine Street project completion are unaffected and work continues.

Attached is the Statement of Claim which contains more details on the event. The Statement of Claim to retrieve the funds was filed in Toronto Court on January 15, 2024.