Leslie Warner, a nurse from British Columbia, has been fighting for justice after her identity was stolen by an imposter in 2020. The imposter falsely claimed that Warner had relocated to Alberta and proceeded to hack into her Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) account to receive a fraudulent refund in her name.
Warner, employed at a hospital in Fernie in the East Kootenay region of the province, had to prove to the agency that she was a victim of identity theft and had not received the funds. However, she expressed frustration that the CRA appeared disinterested in pursuing the actual fraudster who had misappropriated public funds.
Speaking to Mark Kelley of the fifth estate, Warner mentioned that the criminal investigations division of the agency had not reached out to her regarding the perpetrator who intruded into her privacy and disrupted her life.
Of particular concern to Warner was the revelation that her imposter, potentially identified as Christina Cherpak, had been charged with using Warner’s identity in an unrelated social services fraud case in Alberta. Warner now believes that the CRA possesses sufficient evidence to initiate its own investigation into Cherpak but has observed no progress in that direction.
Expressing her doubts about the CRA’s actions, Warner stated, “I think they feel like they’ve cleared my account and that’s that.”
A fifth estate investigation last year discovered that Warner is part of a group of at least 26 healthcare professionals in British Columbia whose CRA accounts were compromised over multiple years, with many feeling that the tax authority is reluctant to prosecute the perpetrators.
Former CRA investigator Shawna Roy suggested that the agency might prioritize safeguarding its reputation over conducting criminal investigations that could expose weaknesses in its fraud detection systems.
Roy, who departed from the agency in 2024 due to disagreements about audit and enforcement gaps, emphasized that she had raised concerns about unauthorized access to taxpayer accounts before leaving. She remarked, “We could have stopped it. It wouldn’t even have happened.”
In response to inquiries, the CRA’s media relations office stated that its criminal investigations section focuses on the “most serious cases” of tax-related crimes but declined to comment on ongoing investigations. The office emphasized that the CRA takes these matters seriously and has enacted robust measures to protect taxpayers’ accounts.
François-Philippe Champagne, the minister responsible for the CRA, did not provide a response to a query from the fifth estate regarding potential criminal investigations related to the compromised accounts.
Christina Cherpak’s Connection to Hacked CRA Accounts
An investigation by the fifth estate last year unveiled Christina Cherpak’s association with an address in Edmonton that was linked to the creation of fictitious companies and fraudulent T4 slips utilized to breach the CRA accounts of healthcare workers in B.C.