Legal Blog

Cyber Fraud

Mississippi Mills (Town of) v. 16442676 Canada Inc., 2026 ONSC 2052

A municipality fell victim to cyber fraud when scammers impersonated a project manager and redirected construction funds into a fraudulent bank account. After paying the contractor a second time, the municipality commenced an action and successfully secured and froze a majority of the diverted money. The municipality then moved for a default judgment against the named defendants. The court granted the motion, awarding the plaintiff the full diverted amount, plus $100,000 in punitive damages and full indemnity costs. The court reasoned that punitive damages were vital to deter cyber-fraud and express strong disapproval of the reprehensible misconduct, while full indemnity costs protected local taxpayers from bearing the financial burden of the fraud.

Written by Jonathan Speigel, the founding partner of Speigel Nichols Fox LLP, leads the litigation and construction practices.