A British Columbia nurse whose identity was stolen in a Canada Revenue Agency fraud scheme says she is still waiting for accountability years after her CRA account was hacked and a bogus tax refund was issued in her name. Leslie Warner, a hospital worker from Fernie, B.C., says the experience turned her life upside down and left her frustrated by what she describes as a lack of action from the agency against those responsible.
Warner’s case dates back to 2020, when an impostor falsely claimed she had moved to Alberta before hacking into her CRA account and receiving fraudulent funds. While the CRA eventually cleared Warner’s account, she says investigators never contacted her about pursuing the individual responsible for the fraud.
The case has gained renewed attention after Alberta court documents revealed that an Edmonton-area woman, Christina Cherpak, was recently charged in an unrelated alleged social services fraud involving Warner’s identity. Warner now believes authorities may already possess enough evidence to launch a broader criminal investigation tied to the hacked CRA accounts.
According to a previous investigation by CBC’s The Fifth Estate, Warner is among at least 26 B.C. health-care workers whose CRA accounts were allegedly compromised over several years. Former CRA investigator Shawna Roy criticized the agency’s handling of such cases, arguing that stronger fraud detection measures could have prevented many of the incidents.
The report also linked fake companies and fraudulent T4 slips used in the scheme to an Edmonton address connected to the alleged scammers. Investigators found that impostors reportedly used fraudulent identification at multiple H&R Block locations in Alberta to obtain large “Instant Refund” payouts.
In a statement, the Canada Revenue Agency said it takes fraud seriously and investigates the “most serious cases” of tax-related offences, but declined to comment on whether any active criminal investigations are underway. Warner says she still hopes authorities will uncover everyone involved in what she believes was a sophisticated identity theft and tax fraud network.
