Bank Employee Accused of Stealing from Clients' Accounts

A former Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CIBC) worker has been arrested and charged with fraud and money laundering after many senior customers were defrauded of around $200,000. The money was withdrawn from the clients' accounts between 2002 and 2007, when Alicia Canlas worked at the bank. CIBC has reimbursed all of the fraud victims, but police have not yet recovered any of the money that was stolen.

The charges against Alicia Canlas were based on the fact that clients' mailing addresses were changed so that clients would not know about the withdrawals. As well, the money was taken from the accounts in small amounts, so as not to raise any red flags. Only seniors were targeted in this scam, as the victims ranged in age between 60 and 85. This makes the scam even worse for the victims, as most of the accounts the money was taken from were trust funds or life savings funds. None of the seniors wanted to be identified in the report.

CIBC has warned customers to check their bank statements every month to check for any discrepancies or missing statements. CIBC must also do a better job of screening their employees when hiring, as well as doing background checks and regular check-ups and evaluations to avoid any problem like this in the future.

http://www.thestar.com/news/crime/article/936205--bank-employee-accused-of-stealing-from-accounts?bn=1