A federal consultant for the Liberal government has been arrested after allegedly ripping off Canadian taxpayers for $250,000.
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police announced that its Sensitive and International Investigations unit had charged Clara Elaine Visser, a 63-year-old federal consultant, with fraud on Tuesday.
Visser faces charges of fraud of over $5000 in violation of the Criminal Code.
According to a news release from the RCMP, Public Services Procurement Canada, the government’s central treasurer and accountant, launched an investigation against Visser in the summer of 2021 after the organization discovered “evidence” that she had submitted fraudulent timesheets.
The PSPC found that she had consulted for eight separate government of Canada departments and crown corporations, and it estimated that she had overbilled $250,000 to the government between Jan. 1, 2020 and June 30, 2021. That’s when PSPC handed the case to the RCMP.
“The RCMP obtained statements from prime contractors while examining timesheets to confirm that the consultant had overbilled the Government of Canada on separate contracts,” it said.
Visser will be in court at the Ottawa courthouse on Elgin St. on Sept. 6, 2024.
“This investigation is a great example of collaboration between the RCMP and PSPC,” Supt. Jeremie Landy, the officer in charge of the RCMP unit, said. “It demonstrates that we are committed to keeping our nation safe by protecting the integrity of the federal government and preventing the abuse of taxpayers’ dollars.”
The Prime Minister’s Office did not respond in time for comment.
Catherine Poulin, the assistant deputy minister at PSPC, said the investigation demonstrates the government’s commitment to protecting the taxpayer.
“The Government of Canada is committed to taking action against improper, unethical and illegal business practices. We hold individuals and companies accountable for their misconduct while protecting federal expenditures,” she said. “PSPC has safeguards in place to detect wrongdoing and protect the integrity of the federal procurement system. We thank the RCMP for their thorough investigation.”
Conservative MP Michael Barrett sounded off about the arrest, raising concerns that other government contractors could be swindling the Canadian taxpayer.
“Trudeau’s broken contracting system allowed this crook to take taxpayers for $250,000,” he said on X. “Trudeau spent over $20 billion on consultants last year. How much has gone to fraudsters?”
The government committed to spending $500 million on consultants in 2023 and over $15 billion over the next five years. It also committed to spending $4.8 billion in the years following 2027.
The arrest comes amid ongoing investigations of the government’s potential misallocation of funds over the controversial ArriveCan app.