Summaries of Investigation - Fraud

The term “fraud” is not defined in the Public Service Employment Act(PSEA). In November 2012, the Federal Court of Appeal decision in Seck v. Canada (Attorney General) [2012] FCA 314, articulates the following definition of fraud in an appointment process under the PSEA. The Commission has since been using this definition in the course of investigations pursuant to section 69 of the PSEA:

• “Fraud thus has two essential elements: (1) dishonesty, which can include non-disclosure of important facts; and (2) deprivation or risk of deprivation. Dishonesty is established where deceit, lies or other fraudulent means are knowingly used in an appointment process. This may include the non-disclosure or concealment of important facts in circumstances that would be viewed by a reasonable person as dishonest. […] the victim of fraud is not required to prove that the fraudulent acts caused actual injury or loss. With regard to section 69 of the PSEA, to prove the second element, it therefore suffices to establish that the appointment process could have been compromised.”

Academic Credentials

• False Academic Credentials - Founded
• Misrepresenting the level of education achieved - Founded
• University degree not authentic - Diploma mill - Founded
• Falsified letter confirming post-secondary registration - Founded
• False information regarding educational credentials - Founded
• False statements concerning level of education - Founded
• False claim about possessing a university degree - Founded
• Foreign university degree not authentic - Founded
• False Information about Second Language Evaluation results, education and professional experience - Founded
• False information regarding education
• False claims about education and experience - Founded
• False information regarding education on job applications
• Providing false information about professional certification and educational qualifications in an appointment process – Founded

Access to unauthorized sources

• Executive candidate pressured subordinate to assist on exam - Founded
• HR employee accessed and used assessment material during interview - Founded
• Sharing of assessment material between candidates - Founded
• Material from a standardized test posted to an online forum - Founded
• Cheating during a take-home exam
• Accessing assessment material during the take-home exam – Founded
• Accessing assessment material prior to the interview - Founded
• Getting help during a take-home exam - Founded
• Accessing and changing assessment results – Founded
• Contravening take-home exam instructions by consulting, using and submitting another candidate’s exam – Founded
• Accessing assessment material in an appointment process
• Spouses collaborated when completing a take-home exam
• Accessing unauthorized material, including information from previous exams, during a supervised take-home exam
• Asking a colleague to review a presentation submitted as part of an assessment, contrary to the instructions

Falsified Documents

• Manager falsifies student's educational documents for CO-OP work placements - Unfounded and founded
  
• Falsified letter confirming post-secondary registration - Founded
• Foreign university degree not authentic - Founded
• False Information about Second Language Evaluation results, education and professional experience - Founded
• False information about candidate’s employment status and falsification of a document – Founded
• Providing false information about employment references – Founded
• Candidate misrepresenting themselves as a reference in an appointment process – Founded
• Providing false information about education level – Founded
• Providing a falsified Physical Abilities Requirement Evaluation certificate during an appointment process
• Providing false information about studies and a falsified university diploma

GC Jobs

• Candidate created multiple GC Jobs accounts and wrote the standardized exam twice – Founded

Professional Designation/Certification

• False statements concerning professional credentials - Founded
• Misrepresentation — claiming to be a member of a provincial bar association - Founded

Second Language Evaluation (SLE)

• Falsification of Second Language Evaluation results - Founded
• Lying about first official language for SLE purposes - Founded
• Candidate provided false information regarding first official language - Unfounded and founded
• False Information about Second Language Evaluation results, education and professional experience - Founded
• Public servant provided falsified second language evaluation results to be appointed
• Providing false information about their first official language and not meeting the language requirements of the position to which they were appointed

Work experience

• Knowingly providing inaccurate information and offering money to a test administrator in exchange for a passing grade
• False information about work experience - Founded
  
• False statements concerning work experience - Founded
• Candidate submitted false information regarding work experience - Founded
• False Information about Second Language Evaluation results, education and professional experience - Founded
• False claims about education and experience - Founded
• False information pertaining to work experience in a screening questionnaire - Founded
• Providing false information about work experience in an appointment process - Founded