Former Alberta CRA employee charged after $20,000 in COVID benefits stolen: RCMP

 Using the internal database to access and alter data is an 'extreme abuse of one’s position,' an RCMP official said

          The largest proportion of COVID-19 support programs have flowed to middle- and                             upper-income earners, according to Statistics Canada. PHOTO BY PETER J.                                 THOMPSON /National Post

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Alberta RCMP are investigating after a former Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) employee allegedly embezzled nearly $20,000 in a COVID-19 emergency benefits scam.

Between April 2020 and January 2021, police said someone fraudulently obtained nearly $20,000 in Canada Emergency Response Benefits (CERB) and Canada Recovery Caregiving Benefit (CRCB) while working as a full-time employee of the Canada Revenue Agency in Alberta, police said in a Wednesday news release.

According to Mounties, the provincial financial crime team has laid charges against the former employee for unauthorized access to a computer and accessing confidential information.

On Aug. 10, Melissa Jensen Webb, 39, of Dawson City, Yukon, was arrested and charged with fraud over $5,000, possession of property obtained by crime over $5,000, mischief in relation to computer data, unauthorized use of a computer to commit fraud, breach of trust by a public officer, and offence with respect to confidential information.

Using the internal database to access and alter data is an “extreme abuse of one’s position,” said Sgt. John Lamming with the provincial financial crime team.

“By manipulating these systems, the accused personally benefited from fraudulent payments.”

Jensen Webb is scheduled to appear in Stony Plain court of justice on Sept. 20.