The National Post has shared the story of a Canadian accountant who was caught after buying nearly $7 million worth of iPhones and iPads with her company credit card and reselling them to the owner of a small electronics store.

Nadia Minetto, who was as an accounting manager at Mississauga-based software company Wescom Solutions, started buying thousands of Apple products with her company-issued American Express card in 2011. It had been her job to approve business expenses for all employees, so her spending went unnoticed.

Over the next two and a half years, the Ontario Superior Court found that Minetto sold 5,321 iPads and 4,942 iPhones to businessman Gabriel Fung, who in turn sold them at his store Plus One Solutions in the Toronto area and to wholesalers in Hong Kong, turning a profit of just over $1 million.

Fung first met Minetto after responding to her ad for an iPad on Kijiji, a popular Craigslist-like classifieds site in Canada. Their transactions eventually became more elaborate, often involving 10 to 20 devices at a time, ultimately leading to bulk shipments to the address of a virtual business set up by Fung.

The scheme came to an end in July 2014, when consultant Kristine Pacy discovered spending irregularities as Wescom was contemplating becoming a publicly traded company. The court determined that at least $6,831,834 of Wescom's money was misappropriated dating back to May 2009.

Minetto admitted to her actions and, in October 2014, she consented to a judgment in the amount of $6,831,834.17 plus interest. Wescom also won a judgment for more than $5 million against Fung, but he was awarded his cross claim for the same amount against Minetto, potentially reducing his amount owed.

This week, an Ontario appeals court dismissed Fung's appeal over his judgment, potentially bringing the case to an end.

Top Rated Comments

radio893fm Avatar
79 months ago
I spent 40 in gas last week and there was turmoil in my company... I need to talk to Nadia.
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)
keysofanxiety Avatar
79 months ago
At $7M (and probably climbing), how did she think this was going to stay unnoticed?
People don't see the bigger picture when they're doing stuff like this. It begins with one or two purchases a month. Then a few a week. Then you really think you can get away with it and becomes the norm. "Oh, time to boost this month's paycheck."

You get overconfident. Purchase in bulk, lose perspective, and get sloppy.

Before you know it, you've racked up 7 million dollars.
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
subjonas Avatar
79 months ago
At $7M (and probably climbing), how did she think this was going to stay unnoticed?
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
theonekcrow Avatar
79 months ago
If this company was properly/thoroughly audited (Especially with a credit card), Nadia would’ve have been caught much earlier on to stop her antics. A lot of companies are audited once, if not twice a year with any external expenses with company credit cards.
I agree with this statement though with a twist... If this company was private at the time of the fraud, they may not necessarily be a requirement by the government to be audited, so there is a failure point there.

This is more so an issue of a lack of internal controls, as she is the accounting manager that oversees everyone’s credit cards, she should not have been allowed to oversee her own. Her charges should have been reviewed by the CEO, CFO, Controller, or some supervisor above her.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
44267547 Avatar
79 months ago
If this company was properly/thoroughly audited (Especially with a credit card), Nadia would’ve have been caught much earlier on to stop her antics. A lot of companies are audited once, if not twice a year with any external expenses with company credit cards.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
rdowty Avatar
79 months ago
Now that is a true fanboy.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

AirPods Pro 3 Mock Feature

AirPods Pro 3 Just Months Away – Here's What We Know

Friday April 18, 2025 5:16 am PDT by
Despite being more than two years old, Apple's AirPods Pro 2 still dominate the premium wireless‑earbud space, thanks to a potent mix of top‑tier audio, class‑leading noise cancellation, and Apple's habit of delivering major new features through software updates. With AirPods Pro 3 widely expected to arrive in 2025, prospective buyers now face a familiar dilemma: snap up the proven...
iphone 16 pro models 1

17 Reasons to Wait for the iPhone 17

Thursday April 17, 2025 4:12 am PDT by
Apple's iPhone development roadmap runs several years into the future and the company is continually working with suppliers on several successive iPhone models simultaneously, which is why we often get rumored features months ahead of launch. The iPhone 17 series is no different, and we already have a good idea of what to expect from Apple's 2025 smartphone lineup. If you skipped the iPhone...
Beyond iPhone 13 Better Triad

Apple's 20th Anniversary iPhone May Finally Go All Screen

Tuesday April 15, 2025 6:31 am PDT by
Apple is preparing a "bold" new iPhone Pro model for the iPhone's 20th anniversary in 2027, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. As part of what's being described as a "major shake-up," Apple is said to be developing a design that makes more extensive use of glass – and this could point directly to the display itself. Here's the case for Apple releasing a truly all-screen iPhone with no...
maxresdefault

iPhone 17 Pro Launching Later This Year With These 12 New Features

Sunday April 13, 2025 7:52 am PDT by
While the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are not expected to launch until September, there are already plenty of rumors about the devices. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. Below, we recap key changes rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models as of April 2025: Aluminum frame: iPhone 17 Pro models are rumored to have an aluminum frame, whereas the iPhone 15 Pro and ...
CarPlay Hero

Apple Releases Wireless CarPlay Fix

Wednesday April 16, 2025 11:28 am PDT by
If you have been experiencing issues with wireless CarPlay in your vehicle lately, it was likely due to a software bug that has now been fixed. Apple released iOS 18.4.1 today, and the update's release notes say it "addresses a rare issue that prevents wireless CarPlay connection in certain vehicles." If wireless CarPlay was acting up for you, updating your iPhone to iOS 18.4.1 should...
top stories 2025 04 19

Top Stories: iPhone 17 Pro Rumors, CarPlay Bug Fix, and More

Saturday April 19, 2025 6:00 am PDT by
This week saw rumor updates on the iPhone 17 Pro and next-generation Vision Pro, while a minor iOS 18.4.1 update delivered not just security fixes but also a fix for some CarPlay issues. We also looked ahead at what else is in Apple's pipeline for the rest of 2025 and even the 20th-anniversary iPhone coming in 2027, so read on below for all the details on these stories and more! iPhone 17 ...
iOS 18

iOS 18.5 Includes Only a Few Changes So Far

Monday April 21, 2025 11:00 am PDT by
Apple seeded the third beta of iOS 18.5 to developers today, and so far the software update includes only a few minor changes. The changes are in the Mail and Settings apps. In the Mail app, you can now easily turn off contact photos directly within the app, by tapping on the circle with three dots in the top-right corner. In the Settings app, AppleCare+ coverage information is more...