Image: The Canadian Press

By Mike Vanden Bosch

Tax evasion

Fraser Valley bookkeeper caught cooking the books: CRA

May 16, 2025 | 8:57 AM

FRASER VALLEY — The Canada Revenue Agency says a Fraser Valley bookkeeper has pleaded guilty to willfully evading remittance tax and making false statements about tax returns.

According to a news release, Aeddy Leung of Surrey received a conditional sentence order for two years less a day and two years probation on April 15, 2025, at the Provincial Court of British Columbia (Robson Square). Leung pleaded guilty to willfully evading remittance tax and to making false statements in Goods and Services Tax (GST)/Harmonized Sales Tax (HST) returns.

A CRA investigation found that Leung, as the bookkeeper of the Quality Hotel Airport (South) and the Coast Vancouver Airport Hotel, deliberately filed false GST/HST returns and failed to file GST/HST returns as required for the 2014-2018 reporting periods. This resulted in the evasion of $987,863 in net GST/HST that was owed by the hotels.

All case-specific information above was gleaned from court records.

The CRA specifically thanked what it called the “significant contribution” of the Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada (FINTRAC) to this investigation.

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The CRA says addressing tax evasion and other financial crimes is important for the protection of Canada’s tax base, adding that the majority of Canadians pay their taxes in full and on time. To ensure that the tax system is fair for everyone, the CRA makes sure that people who try to avoid or evade paying taxes are held accountable. Willfully failing to follow Canada’s tax laws could result in serious consequences, including reassessments, the imposition of civil penalties, criminal tax investigations and prosecutions resulting in court imposed fines, jail time and a criminal record.

In addition to the court imposed fines and/or jail sentences, convicted taxpayers have to pay the full amount of tax owing, plus related interest and any penalties assessed by the CRA.

CRA personnel say they will not stop aggressively pursuing tax evasion, and false claims with all the tools available to it. Any individual or business who underreports income, or claims losses or benefits to which they are not entitled may have to repay the benefit amounts and may be subject to other possible action.