An Edmonton woman has been sentenced to 18 months in jail after admitting she redirected nearly $180,000 in Canada Pension Plan and Old Age Security payments into her own bank account.

Bonnie Lo, 45, pleaded guilty to fraud and breach of trust by a public officer. While working as a Service Canada payment services officer, Lo redirected 176 CPP and OAS payments between October 2012 and December 2016.

The fraud was discovered after a client attempted to cash older pension cheques and learned that several had already been redeemed. An investigation by Service Canada found that reissued payments had been diverted to a bank account belonging to Lo.

The judge described the scheme as a serious abuse of public trust because the stolen money was intended for elderly Canadians. Lo was sentenced to 18 months in jail followed by 12 months of probation.

The court considered Lo’s guilty plea and personal circumstances but also cited the repeated and planned nature of the fraud, the financial loss and a previous conviction for similar conduct.

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Originally published on Canadian Fraud News.