Former employee charged with defrauding City of Surrey, B.C., of $2.5 million

Surrey City Hall is seen in this photo shared by the City of Surrey on Facebook on Oct. 6, 2023.

A former employee of the City of Surrey has been charged with four offences in connection to alleged frauds that cost the city roughly $2.5 million.

The B.C. Prosecution Service approved the charges against 40-year-old Sunny Catlin last week, the Surrey Police Service said in a statement Wednesday.

Catlin has been charged with fraud or breach of trust in public office, fraud over $5,000, theft over $5,000 and forgery, the SPS said.

It also added details in relation to the breach of trust and forgery charges, describing Catlin as allegedly “committing fraud or a breach of trust by issuing and depositing cheques from the City of Surrey without authority and for her own benefit” and “knowingly making false documents — City of Surrey deposit release authorization packages — with intent that they be used or acted upon by the City of Surrey as if they were genuine.”

Police said their investigation of Catlin began in early 2024, when the Surrey RCMP Economic Crimes Unit was informed by the city about “a significant fraud.”

“Investigators alleged that a municipal employee accessed the financial systems and created a series of fraudulent files in connection with their official duties over an extended period of time,” the SPS statement reads.

“The alleged fraud is believed to have resulted in an estimated loss of $2.5 million to the City of Surrey.”

Catlin is scheduled to make her first court appearance on the charges on Dec. 2, according to police.

“Investigators have concluded their investigation and are working closely with the B.C. Prosecution Service to complete the disclosure process,” the SPS said.

The city went public with allegations about $2.5 million in “irregular transactions” earlier this year, saying it had filed a civil lawsuit against a former employee, who it did not name at the time.

City manager Rob Costanzo said the lawsuit was filed in 2024 after staff identified problems dating back to 2017 involving dormant development-deposit accounts.

The SPS said it could not share any additional information about the criminal case against Catlin on Wednesday, and Mayor Brenda Locke similarly declined to elaborate on the investigation.

“I do want to thank the Surrey RCMP Economic Crimes Unit and all investigators involved for working to ensure accountability in this case,” Locke said in a statement.

“The City of Surrey remains committed to transparency and integrity in all its operations.”

With files from The Canadian Press