oh dear.
The RCMP used data from cellphone towers to probe allegations that a former NDP MP and her brother defrauded taxpayers by submitting fake travel claims, according to documents filed in court.
Wheel-chair bound after a horse-riding accident in 1993, Manon Perreault became the NDP’s critic for disability issues after her 2011 election in the riding of Montcalm, northeast of Montreal. She hired her brother Marc Perreault to accompany her at a cost of $55,000 a year. MPs aren’t normally allowed to hire family members in their offices, but the House of Commons gave her a specific exemption given her disability.
However, a former NDP staffer has raised questions with the RCMP about thousands of dollars in reimbursements that were obtained by Manon and Marc Perreault since 2012.
According to Sylvie Daigle, Manon and Marc Perreault were frequently reimbursed by the House of Commons for trips that were not taken. Ms. Daigle also told RCMP investigator Pierre Breton that Ms. Perreault occasionally filled out her own claims “to ensure that no one saw them. It was nebulous.”
The RCMP worked to corroborate the allegations by using data from cellphone towers and credit-card statements, comparing their findings with Ms. Perreault’s travel claims. The RCMP then raided the Ottawa and riding offices of Ms. Perreault last September in a bid to obtain more detailed records from the MP, including her electronic agenda and all of her travel claims.
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Ex-NDP MP claimed travel expenses for trips never taken, RCMP allege - The Globe and Mail
The RCMP used data from cellphone towers to probe allegations that a former NDP MP and her brother defrauded taxpayers by submitting fake travel claims, according to documents filed in court.
Wheel-chair bound after a horse-riding accident in 1993, Manon Perreault became the NDP’s critic for disability issues after her 2011 election in the riding of Montcalm, northeast of Montreal. She hired her brother Marc Perreault to accompany her at a cost of $55,000 a year. MPs aren’t normally allowed to hire family members in their offices, but the House of Commons gave her a specific exemption given her disability.
However, a former NDP staffer has raised questions with the RCMP about thousands of dollars in reimbursements that were obtained by Manon and Marc Perreault since 2012.
According to Sylvie Daigle, Manon and Marc Perreault were frequently reimbursed by the House of Commons for trips that were not taken. Ms. Daigle also told RCMP investigator Pierre Breton that Ms. Perreault occasionally filled out her own claims “to ensure that no one saw them. It was nebulous.”
The RCMP worked to corroborate the allegations by using data from cellphone towers and credit-card statements, comparing their findings with Ms. Perreault’s travel claims. The RCMP then raided the Ottawa and riding offices of Ms. Perreault last September in a bid to obtain more detailed records from the MP, including her electronic agenda and all of her travel claims.
more
Ex-NDP MP claimed travel expenses for trips never taken, RCMP allege - The Globe and Mail