The Town of White City and the Rural Municipality of Edenwold have been targeted in a sophisticated fraud scheme connected to the WCRM158 Wastewater Authority, jointly owned by the two municipalities.
The scam, discovered on July 29, 2025, involved a fraudster electronically impersonating the Wastewater Authority. White City was defrauded of $200,000, while the RM of Edenwold lost $497,000.
Officials say the incident was isolated and targeted, with no breaches of municipal internal systems. Personal information belonging to ratepayers was not compromised.
Both municipalities immediately reported the fraud to the RCMP and the relevant financial institutions. Efforts are now focused on recovering the funds, with the two councils cooperating fully with the ongoing criminal investigation.
Because the case is under investigation, the Town of White City, the RM of Edenwold, and the Wastewater Authority will not provide further public comment at this time.
In the meantime, municipal officials say they are taking proactive measures to strengthen internal controls and operational procedures. Staff-led training initiatives are ongoing to improve employees’ ability to detect and prevent potential fraud in the future.
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