$2.2M fraud case involves ‘thousands and thousands’ of pages of evidence
23-year-old man living in Winnipeg charged with defrauding Qikiqtani Inuit Association of millions in email scam
Chukwuma Eruchalu, 23, charged with defrauding Qikiqtani Inuit Association of $2.2 million, is scheduled to return to court in Iqaluit on June 10. (File photo)
This story was updated on Wednesday, May 28, at 10 a.m. ET.
The Winnipeg man accused of defrauding Qikiqtani Inuit Association of $2.2 million appeared in Iqaluit court Tuesday, with lawyers saying they expect “thousands and thousands of pages” of evidence will be involved in the case.
Chukwuma Eruchalu, 23, is charged with fraud over $5,000. He took part in the Nunavut Court of Justice appearance through video call from the Iqaluit jail.
“It is a document-heavy file. I am advised that there will be at least one month until we can produce any disclosure that is of a usable form,” Crown prosecutor Christopher McCarthy said in court, referring to the process where lawyers for both sides disclose evidence and relevant information about the case to each other prior to trial.
Lawyers are waiting on documents from the RCMP, and until the defence receives those “thousands and thousands of pages” of disclosure they have no interest in scheduling a bail hearing, Eruchalu’s lawyer Cassandra Richards said.
She explained that if she received those documents the morning of the hearing, it would be waste of the court’s time.
Eruchalu was arrested in Winnipeg on April 22 following a Nunavut RCMP investigation assisted by Manitoba RCMP and QIA staff, Nunavut RCMP said in a news release May 23.
In its own news release on May 23, QIA alleged an unnamed third-party organization was hacked, and that a hacked email address was then used to provide QIA with fraudulent banking information.
QIA said it has since recovered $2.1 million of the lost funds and is working to recover the rest. It said the incident will not have an impact on QIA programs.
Eruchalu is scheduled to return to court June 10.
Clarification: This story was updated to add information about why defence lawyer Cassandra Richards suggested a delay in scheduling a bail hearing.
Were they “hacked” or simply failed to do due diligence?
Someone won a free trip and couldnt wait to cash in
Someone musta clicked on one of those emails they warn us not to click on 😅
all tho ilegal, it is an Amazing Achievement, the kind of things we all dream to do and that our mom told us not to, that it was not right to do so, but wow man, what an massive amount of mulla,Unbeleivable, reminds me movies and the story they toke a pennies out of each person account