Large-scale, $48M fraud ends with four people charged by regional police
Posted Jun 16, 2026 03:15:05 PM.
Last Updated Jun 17, 2026 07:40:27 AM.
Officials revealed the results of a long-term, complex investigation into millions of dollars of fraud in Waterloo Region at a press conference on Tuesday.
Officers from Waterloo Regional Police Service were joined at headquarters, where police explained how forged documents led investigators to uncover a local firearms and ammunition business falsified invoices to receive funds from a commercial financing company.
From 2016 to 2020, the distribution business secured tens of millions of dollars through fake business documents, police explained.
“In 2020, during financial audits, it was discovered that there were some serious financial irregularities that took place in the previous bankruptcy proceeding,” Constable Chris Iden said in an interview.
Officers continued to dig into the case, where they found many of the transactions the business reported never happened, Iden said.
“They (investigators) also uncovered fabricated communications and deliberate misrepresentations that were designed to essentially make the operation appear more legitimate,” he said.
Officials said that nearly 20,000 fake invoices were submitted, resulting in about $48 million in losses to the financing firm. Iden said that four people who were employees of the business are facing serious charges in connection with the case.
A 52-year-old male and a 48-year-old female from London, a 56-year-old male from South Frontenac, and a 64-year-old male from Guelph are jointly charged with:
- Fraud over $5,000
- Forgery
- Uttering forged documents
- Falsification of business documents
- Possession of property obtained by crime
- Laundering proceeds of crime
- Identity fraud
“This investigation was incredibly complex, took a long time,” Iden said.
Crime
