The agency in charge of Canada’s nuclear waste says an alleged cyber criminal posing as an Indigenous chief managed to cheat the organization into paying the person almost $300,000, money meant for community development at a First Nation in Ontario.
The funds were the second of two payments totalling $600,000 from the Nuclear Waste Management Organization (NWMO) to Chippewas of Saugeen First Nation, part of a controversial community development effort tied to finding a host site for a $23-billion tomb to seal Canada’s stockpile of used nuclear fuel for millennia.
“Earlier this year, we were made aware that we were the victim of fraudulent cyber activity when a payment was diverted from the intended recipient,” NWMO media relations manager Bruce Logan told CBC News in an email.
“Thankfully we were able to recover most of the funds. We have also transferred the full amount to Chippewas of Saugeen, the rightful recipient.”
Court filings answer questions agency won’t
Logan said the NWMO has opened an internal investigation. It had also reported the crime to the RCMP’s Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre, but the Mounties aren’t investigating, he said.
Logan wouldn’t answer any further questions.
Saugeen First Nation, an Ojibway First Nation along the Saugeen River and Bruce Peninsula in Ontario, eventually was the ‘rightful recipient’ of the money, slated to be used for community development. (Google Street View)
However, court documents filed by lawyers for the NWMO in its attempts to find the missing money were obtained and reviewed by CBC News. They provide some insight into how the alleged scammer got away with some of the money.
According to affidavits, the agency received two emails on Dec. 21, 2021, from an email account professing to be that of Saugeen First Nation Chief Lester Anoquot.
The first email contained instructions to make the payments to an account with the Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) instead of the band’s usual Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CIBC) account. The second email held a copy of a void RBC cheque.
Fraudster claimed to be Saugeen chief
A series of emails were then exchanged between the person claiming to be the chief and agency officials as they tried to sniff out the legitimacy of the sudden change in payment instructions, the court documents said.
This bright yellow sign was erected by protesters in Teeswater, Ont., a small farming town in South Bruce municipality, one of two sites where the NWMO is considering storing Canada’s stockpile of used nuclear fuel. (Colin Butler/CBC News)
On Dec. 29, 2021, the NWMO made an electronic payment to the specified account in good faith. The court documents said it wasn’t until Jan. 27, 2022, when the band council said the money never arrived, that NWMO officials realized the account claiming to be that of the chief had been compromised.
The documents said at that point, NWMO officials realized they knew neither the identity of the person who received the money nor how much was spent.
According to the documents, lawyers for the nuclear waste agency then applied for a Norwich order, a rare move in Canadian law that would compel an innocent third party to turn over information to aid a prosecution.
A Toronto court placed a restraint order on the account on March 9, 2022, court filings said. At the time, there was a remaining balance of $228,465.07.
Anoquot declined to comment to CBC News on the matter, saying the band council is still trying to determine its next steps.
“We are still discussing a path forward [and] are not prepared to do a story yet,” he wrote in an email.
Bank records included in court filings
But RBC records included in the court filings indicate the account in question belonged to a Robert Soloman Gruger, who runs a company called RSG Ventures, registered at a residential address in Burlington, Ont.
Diagram shows what the $23-billion tomb for nuclear waste would look like once construction is complete. The facility is designed to store over three million bundles of spent nuclear fuel for 100,000 years. (NWMO)
The home is a former duplex and is currently listed for sale on the province’s Multiple Listing Services website. Google Streetview images show the property undergoing extensive renovations. No one is currently living at the residence.
The bank records state the physical address of RSG Ventures is a commercial plaza in Oakville, Ont. The mailing address is a mall in Mississauga, Ont.
The bank records also listed a phone number for the company, but when CBC News called the number, Douglas Finch answered and said he had never heard of RSG Ventures or Robert Solomon Gruger.
Finch said he had recently acquired the phone number as an executive line for his company, DraftCo, a draught beer monitoring service for bars and restaurants in the Greater Toronto Area.
“That’s a business number I just picked up,” he said. “I’ve only had the number for six weeks type thing.”
As for Robert Solomon Gruger, CBC News ran his name through a number of databases — including bankruptcy, insolvency, and a lien search in Ontario — but no matches showed up.
TORONTO – MLSE president and CEO Keith Pelley and Toronto FC’s top officials have promised change at the ailing MLS club, which is sitting out the playoffs for the fourth straight season.
Pelley says while the franchise’s entire organizational structure is under review, it is going to take some time to find the right answers.
Coach John Herdman says he is looking for young, athletic and durable talent to help turn around a club which he said started the season strongly but finished weakly.
Toronto (11-19-4) was eliminated from playoff contention in a 1-0 loss Oct. 5 to visiting Inter Miami. It will watch the regular season finale from the sidelines, with a bye the final weekend.
Toronto has not made the playoffs since 2020, when it exited at the first hurdle in an upset loss to expansion Nashville. Its regular-season record since then is 30-75-21, with coaches Chris Armas and Bob Bradley fired along the way.
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This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 17, 2024
HAMILTON – There’ll be no playoff games this year for the Hamilton Tiger-Cats but head coach Scott Milanovich feels the club can get a head start on changing that narrative in 2025.
Hamilton hosts Calgary on Friday night in a battle between two non-playoff teams. The Ticats will finish fourth in the East Division while the Stampeders remain fifth in the West, three points behind idle Edmonton with two regular-season games remaining.
“There’s momentum that can be built at the end of the season,” said Milanovich, who’s completing his first season as Hamilton’s head coach/offensive coordinator. “I’ve been part of situations where momentum was built and then the following season it took off.
“What I don’t want to have happen is have a lull where you lose what we’ve kind of started building over the last six weeks. I want to take that into the off-season and training camp.”
Hamilton (6-10) played itself back into playoff contention with four straight victories before suffering a 31-10 home loss to Winnipeg on Oct. 4. The Toronto Argonauts (9-7) eliminated the Ticats from post-season contention with a 14-11 road win over the Blue Bombers last Friday.
For some coaches, that would present an opportunity to audition new players under game conditions. But Milanovich said his priority is to field the best team possible in order to secure the victory, although he did leave the door open to getting backup quarterback Taylor Powell some reps down the stretch.
“He may not play, I’m not making any promises,” Milanovich said. “But other than him we’re playing the best guys available.”
With that in mind, rookie Greg Bell will start at running back ahead of veteran James Butler, who’ll come off the roster. Cornerback Jamal Peters (neck) is out while defensive lineman Nick Usher (ankle) returns.
For Calgary (4-11-1), receiver Cam Echols (head) comes into the lineup while receiver Cam Tucker (hamstring) goes off.
Hamilton starter Bo Levi Mitchell will get a second shot at earning his first win over his former team. Mitchell, who spent his first 10 CFL seasons with Calgary before joining the Ticats in 2023, completed 27-of-38 passes for 300 yards with a TD and interception in a 32-24 season-opening road loss to the Stampeders on June 7.
Mitchell leads the CFL in passing yards (4,576), touchdowns (26) and interceptions (16). The 34-year-old Texan, a two-time Grey Cup champion and twice the league’s outstanding player, is closing in on his third 5,000-yard passing campaign.
The contest is Hamilton’s last this season at Tim Hortons Field, where it is 3-5. But the Ticats have won three of their last four home games against Calgary.
Life on the road has been miserable for the Stampeders, who’re 0-7 this season away from McMahon Stadium. In fact, they’re just 1-12 in their last 13 games away from home.
Having said that, though, Calgary is looking for its first season sweep of Hamilton since 2018.
“We’re trying to win, that’s the first priority and will always be,” Dave Dickenson, Calgary’s head coach/GM, told reporters in the Alberta city this week. “We’ll probably rotate more, for sure we will … but we still expect the same performance and the same execution no matter who plays.”
American Matt Shiltz will start at quarterback for Calgary. He was 18-of-33 passing for 215 yards with a TD an interception in the Stamps’ 23-18 home loss to Edmonton (6-11) last week while rushing five times for 64 yards.
Shiltz spent two seasons in Hamilton (2022-23) before joining the Stampeders in free agency.
“I think he did some good things for us (versus Edmonton),” Dickenson said of Shiltz. “He’s going up against his former team and probably has some familiarity there but different coaches.
“Hopefully he feels good with how our offence is structured and can make plays.”
Calgary is riding an eight-game winless streak (0-7-1) and sports a 2-4-1 record against East Division teams. Hamilton is 2-7 versus the West Division.
Both teams will finish their season on the road. Hamilton travels to Ottawa on Oct. 25 while Calgary visits Saskatchewan the following night.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 17, 2024.
TORONTO – Immanuel Quickley is questionable for the Toronto Raptors final pre-season game.
The guard has missed Toronto’s first four tune-up games with a sprained thumb.
Raptors head coach Darko Rajakovic says that Quickley has been cleared for all practice and team activities but that the team would be cautious about putting him into an actual game.
Toronto visits the Brooklyn Nets on Friday to close out its pre-season, then hosts the Cleveland Cavaliers on Wednesday in its home opener.
Quickley moved over to point guard after the Raptors acquired him on Dec. 30 in a trade with the New York Knicks.
He averaged 18.6 points, 6.8 assists and 4.8 rebounds in 38 games for Toronto in that new role last season.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 17, 2024.
