Winnipeg man charged with defrauding Nunavut Inuit organization of $2.2M

A man was arrested in Winnipeg for defrauding the Qikiqtani Inuit Association (QIA) of over $2 million, according to the Nunavut RCMP.

Chukwuma Eruchalu, 23, was arrested on April 22 and charged with one count of fraud over $5,000. 

The money was taken from QIA through what's called a "business email compromise" in November 2024 — a scam where someone compromises business email accounts "through social engineering or computer intrusion to conduct unauthorized transfers of funds," the RCMP said in a news release Friday. 

QIA is the regional Inuit association that represents Inuit in the Qikiqtaaluk area, which is mainly made up of Baffin Island. 

Nunavut RCMP put out a notice last November warning people about an increase in "fraudulent activity" in the territory.

They also told CBC News at the time that nearly $3 million was lost in a single spear-phishing incident. 

In email to CBC News, RCMP spokesperson Sgt. George Henrie said this is not the same incident. 

"That is not the same case that's mentioned in the CBC story ...  That matter is still under investigation," Henrie wrote. 

In a separate news release, QIA said it has recovered $2.1 million of the total $2.2 million lost. 

"After investigating, QIA discovered that a third-party organization was hacked. The perpetrator used a familiar external organization's email address and used that hacked email address to provide QIA with fraudulent banking details," wrote Karen Flaherty, QIA's director of strategic communications. 

Flaherty also said QIA's systems were not compromised, but the organization is training staff to make sure they're informed about cyber crime and ways to protect against other attacks. 

Eruchalu was taked into custody and will appear in court in Iqaluit on May 27.