Ex-employee charged in $2.5M fraud case involving the City of Surrey

November 26,2025

RED FM News Desk

A former City of Surrey employee has been charged with four offences in connection with alleged fraud schemes that cost the municipality an estimated $2.5 million.

The B.C. Prosecution Service approved charges against 40-year-old Sunny Catlin last week, the Surrey Police Service (SPS) said in a statement on Wednesday.

Catlin is charged with fraud or breach of trust by a public official, fraud over $5,000, theft over $5,000, and forgery, according to the SPS.

Police provided further details regarding the breach of trust and forgery allegations, stating that Catlin allegedly “committed fraud or a breach of trust by issuing and depositing cheques from the City of Surrey without authority and for her own benefit,” and “knowingly created false documents — City of Surrey deposit release authorization packages — intending that they be acted upon as genuine.”

The investigation into Catlin began in early 2024 after the Surrey RCMP Economic Crimes Unit was alerted to what the city described as “significant fraud.”

“Investigators alleged that a municipal employee accessed financial systems and generated a series of fraudulent files related to their official duties over an extended period,” the SPS statement said.

The alleged actions are believed to have caused approximately $2.5 million in losses to the city.

Catlin is scheduled to make her first court appearance on Dec. 2.

The SPS said investigators have completed the case and are working with prosecutors to finalize disclosure.

Earlier this year, the city publicly acknowledged about $2.5 million in “irregular transactions,” noting that it had launched a civil lawsuit against a former employee, whose name was not disclosed at that time.

City manager Rob Costanzo said the lawsuit, filed in 2024, stemmed from issues dating back to 2017 involving dormant development-deposit accounts.

The SPS said no further details about the criminal case could be shared on Wednesday. Surrey Mayor Brenda Locke also declined to comment on specifics of the investigation.

“I want to thank the Surrey RCMP Economic Crimes Unit and all investigators for ensuring accountability in this case,” Locke said in a statement. “The City of Surrey remains committed to transparency and integrity in all its operations.”