SGI broker, false expenses cost Sask. taxpayers thousands

The provincial government says more than$26,000 was lost after an SGI broker allegedly misappropriated funds.

In September, SGI cancelled its contract with a broker/issuer after it was found to have kept more than $106,000 in insurance premiums and fees. The broker was selling vehicle and home insurance, but wasn't passing along the money to the crown corporation.

Once SGI found out, it terminated its contracts with the broker, and seized all of its supplies and equipment. Eventually, the company sold the business to another company, generating roughly $80,000. Nearly$27,000 wasn't recoverable.

The crown corporation said it will do a better job following-up on overdue accounts.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Justice found that a contract employee had been allegedly submitting inaccurate expense claims and under-reporting vacation usage for more than three years.

The province estimated the employee was overpaid by $46,000. Eventually, the person's contract was terminated, and the province was able to recover all the money.

Finally, a contract worker with the Ministry of Social Services was overpaid by roughly $8,000 after timecards were found to be allegedly falsified. The worker's contract was terminated and the incident was reported to the police.