An Edmonton senior says he’s had a $32,000 tax rebate stolen from him by a tax consultant who had access to his account.
Bruce Currie hired an independent tax consultant to help file his taxes 2 years ago.
“She said I should do this disability tax credit,” said Currie. He said he notified the consultant he would file for that credit on his own.
In December, he said the Canada Revenue Agency approved him receiving the credit.
“Because I was approved 100 per cent, they are going to give me back the taxes I had paid over 10 years,” said Currie.
On December 18th, he received an email from the CRA to check his online account.
That’s when he discovered a $14,000 refund was deposited to a bank account he didn’t recognize.
Currie claims the consultant went into his CRA account, filed his 2023 taxes, then changed his address and banking information to hers.
He reported it to the police and the Canada Revenue Agency, then corrected his information.
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But it happened again.
“The CRA told me that the money was deposited into the ‘account of record’ from the time the assessments were done,” said Currie.
“$31,000 has been stolen from me in a week.”
Currie said the CRA assured him the issue was fixed, but a third deposit went missing just last week.
“They’re allowing it to happen, they’re saying ‘Oh here, take Mr. Currie’s money,’” he said.
“I worked hard for this money — this is not a gift from CRA.”
His MP, Heather McPherson of Edmonton Strathcona, said her office is often asked to help with CRA concerns.
“This circumstance, that error was not fixed. And, you know, obviously the implications on this are quite severe,” said McPherson.
The Edmonton Police Service told Global News there is an ongoing fraud investigation, but charges have not been laid.
Global News reached out to the Canada Revenue Agency 20 days ago for comment on this story, when we first started looking into it. The government agency replied on Wednesday with instructions on how to report fraud.
Currie is left wondering if he will lose more money.
The Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre warns phishing and fraud is common during tax season.
“Verify your direct deposit information regularly. Make sure that your benefits are getting paid, that your address hasn’t changed,” said Jeff Horncastle, Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre client and communication outreach officer.
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