2 Ontario men charged after allegedly defrauding Children's Aid Society of more than $250K

A Peel Regional Police cruiser is seen in this undated image. (Peel Regional Police)

The Peel Children’s Aid Society (CAS) was defrauded out of more than $250,000 by two of its own employees, according to police.

In a news release, Peel Regional Police said investigators with its Fraud Bureau arrested and charged two former employees on Monday.

• Download our app to get local alerts on your device
• Get the latest local updates right to your inbox

Several charges were laid in connection with what investigators described as an alleged “purchase and reimbursement scheme.”

The criminal investigation began in July of 2022 following an internal review at Peel CAS which resulted in the termination of two employees who were suspected of defrauding the organization.

Police said the investigation suggests that the two suspects were working together to defraud the organization of more than a quarter of a million dollars.

As a result, on Monday police arrested and charged Marino Cader, 43, of Ancaster, Ont. and Andre Paul, 46, of Acton, Ont.

Cader was the former director of finance, property and information technology at Peel CAS and Paul was the former property maintenance coordinator.

Cader is charged with seven counts of fraud over $5,000 and five counts of utter forged document.

Paul is charged with three counts of utter forged document.

Both are set to appear in a Brampton, Ont. courtroom on Jan. 2.

In a statement provided to CTV News Toronto, Peel CAS said it is working to recover the allegedly stolen funds.

“We take any misconduct within the organization extremely seriously and have taken steps to protect the agency from this type of incident in the future,” the statement read.

“We sincerely appreciate the staff members who alerted senior management to potential concerns.”