A Toronto resident has been jailed for defrauding the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) by redirecting more than $41 million in company tax refunds into bank accounts he controlled.
Kevin Ekow Plange of Toronto was sentenced on March 20 to18 months in jail and to two years of probation, the CRA says in a news release.
On Sept. 27, 2017, Plange pleaded guilty in the Superior Court of Justice in Toronto to one count of fraud over $5,000 under the Criminal Code.
A CRA investigation revealed that between Aug. 7, 2013 and July 28, 2014, Plange prepared and submitted to the CRA 28 fraudulent direct deposit forms, to change the direct deposit information for the accounts of 12 companies.
Plange falsified these direct deposit forms to direct GST/HST refunds and other payments properly payable to the corporations into bank accounts held by him with various Canadian banks.
As a result, Plange redirected $41,831,073 into bank accounts he controlled. Ultimately, with the exception of $15,000, the CRA recovered the funds.