Employment Insurance fraud lands man in jail for 21 months

A 29-year-old man from Esgenopetitj First Nation has been sentenced to 21 months in jail for Employment Insurance fraud.

Ryan Michael Wade Bear was sentenced in Miramichi Provincial Court on May 5 after pleading guilty to fraud of $259,386as well as falsifying 22 employment records.

The police investigation started in June 2013, when the RCMPfederal operations unit received a referral from the federal government about an Employment Insurance fraud scheme, according to the RCMP.

"As a result of the investigation, the RCMP determined that Bear, who worked as a fisherman, had sold fraudulent records of employment," the police said in a statement.

"Selling false Records of Employment, or providing false information to obtain EI benefits constitute a fraud against the Government of Canada that can result in criminal charges."