A Toronto man is facing charges after allegedly defrauding the local Catholic school board out of $2.1 million.
Windsor police say they launched an investigation in September 2024. Their investigation found a man impersonated a contractor hired to complete work for the board. According to police, the person intercepted communications from the contractor, gave the board new banking details, and then money intended for the contractor was transferred to his account.
Investigators identified a suspect and issued an Ontario-warrant for his arrest. They learned he had left the country in October 2024.
On March 6, the 36-year-old was arrested after he got off a plane at Toronto Pearson International Airport.
He was transported back to Windsor, where he faces charges of fraud, forgery, uttering forged documents, laundering, and possession of property obtained by crime.
The Windsor Essex Catholic District School Board is currently working to recover the funds.
"Along with its legal counsel, the Board is currently in the process of working through the courts and with various financial institutions, and is confident that it will recover substantially all of the funds that were taken,"a statement from the board said. "The WECSSB would like to reassure the public that at no time were its computer systems ever compromised, and that we take our role as responsible stewards of our resources very seriously."
The charges have not been proven in court.