How scammers got big money from Sudbury

Plus, NHLers charged with sexual assault and capping Ozempic coverage [Get This Offer]( [The Star] First Up [By Kevin Jiang] By Kevin Jiang Good morning. Apologies for the odd formatting of today’s newsletter — we’ll be back to normal tomorrow. Here’s the latest on how one Ontario city was scammed out of $1.5 million, NHL players charged in a sex assault case and why Ontario is limiting coverage for Ozempic. DON’T MISS Dreamstime Photo star investigation [How scammers tricked a northern Ontario city into wiring $1.5 million to a Toronto bank account]( The City of Greater Sudbury is scrambling to recover a “quite significant” sum of $1.5 million, after being swindled into sending the money — meant to go towards an affordable housing project — into the wrong bank account, Sheila Wang reports. In a recently filed lawsuit, the city says fraudsters infiltrated the email accounts of a construction company contracted for the project and convinced the city to send the money to a bank account allegedly set up in Scarborough. It’s now seeking court orders requiring major banks to track and freeze the funds. [Here’s more on the misdirected money and the city’s hopes of recovering it](. - More: It appears Sudbury tried to keep a lid on the missing million. The money was transferred on Dec. 21 and the city filed its lawsuit on Jan. 15, but made no public mention of the fraud until two weeks later — when the Star began asking questions about the case. - What we know: Fraud was the quickest growing crime reported to police in the last decade, with rates nearly doubling between 2011 and 2021. In the five years leading up to 2019, Canadians were defrauded of more than $16 billion — [and the technology is only growing more sophisticated, experts say](. Matt Slocum/AP Photo hockey [Four more 2018 Canadian world junior team members have been charged in an alleged London sex assault case]( NHL players Dillon Dube, Carter Hart, Michael McLeod and Cal Foote have been charged in connection with a years-long investigation into an alleged sexual assault involving members of Canada’s 2018 world junior hockey team, their lawyers confirmed. In separate statements, the lawyers said each player has been charged with one count of sexual assault — all intend to plead not guilty. The incident allegedly took place at the 2018 Hockey Canada gala celebrating the team’s win over Sweden, according to a $3.55 million lawsuit filed in 2022 by a woman claiming she was sexually assaulted by multiple players. [Here’s what you need to know](. - Context: According to the lawsuit, multiple players sexually assaulted an intoxicated woman in their hotel room on the night of the gala. [London police believe five players were involved](. - Go deeper: Mcleod, Dube, Hart and Foote all took indefinite leaves of absence from their teams earlier this month, [but they may still be banking their million-dollar salaries — here’s why](. - Miss something? The news comes days after [former NHL player Alex Formenton’s lawyer confirmed he was among the players charged in the case]( he surrendered to police on Sunday. Briannah Daniel Photo Illustration star exclusive [As demand for Ozempic soars, Ontario is limiting coverage under the Ontario Drug Benefit Plan]( Demand for Ozempic, the injectable diabetes drug that kicked off a viral frenzy over its off-label use for weight loss, has soared in recent months — leading Ontario to put limits on who is covered for the medication on social assistance. In a bid to protect supply, coverage for Ozempic under the Ontario Drug Benefit Program will be primarily limited to those with type 2 diabetes. Others on the public drug program with an Ozempic prescription for weight loss will have to start paying out of pocket starting today, Megan Ogilvie reports. A provincial spokesperson said the move aligns Ontario with the actions of other provinces — [take a closer look at the coverage cut](. - Wait, what? Prospective weight-loss patients need a prescription to use Ozempic, but they are easily secured. Star reporter Morgan Sevareid-Bocknek was prescribed the drug without speaking to a doctor — [even though she shouldn’t have qualified](. - Go deeper: Novo Nordisk, which markets Ozempic, expects a Canadian shortage of its 0.25 mg, 0.5 mg and 1 mg injection pens until early 2024. [Health Canada says it’s working with the drug’s manufacturers as we enter a worldwide shortage](. [PoliceAlerts] Want to keep an eye on law enforcement? With our new alerts, you’ll get an email as soon as there are updates in our ongoing investigation of policing and policy across the GTA or other breaking news about police accountability. [Sign up for free here](. WHAT ELSE Wondering if you’ll ever be able to retire? [In Canada’s cost-of-living crisis, you’re not alone](. [App-based gig work is surging in Canada]( amid falling employment and a rise in newcomers. Colleges and universities are warning against the [“long-lasting consequences” of an international student cap](. Toronto police are at “a critical point in our history,” [the chief said in defence of the heated budget rhetoric](. [Canada has issued a travel advisory for Bahamas]( due to rising crime, following the lead of the U.S. Toronto police are warning of new “taxi” scam that has [defrauded 60 people of more than $40,000 since June](. [Peter Nygard is expected to hire Jacob Hoggard’s lawyer]( for his Toronto sentencing hearing. A massive data breach of 26 billion records has been discovered. [Here’s how to protect yourself](. Elon Musk’s secretive brain chip company Neuralink implanted a device in a human for the first time. [Here’s how it works](. Justin Turner just signed with the Blue Jays. [Here are the six biggest names left on the free agent market](. Briony Smith test-drove a drink-tracking app over a week of dates and parties. [The results surprised her](. [McDonald’s’ iconic McRib sandwich is back]( in Canada after a decade-long hiatus. POV Susan Kao Photo Illustration [I grew up homeless in Toronto. The city’s police budget would be better spent on services for the unhoused.]( CLOSE-UP Jim Sabo/California Science Center/AFP via Getty Images LOS ANGELES: The retired NASA space shuttle Endeavor, wrapped in a protective white coating, is affixed to a giant orange external tank and twin solid rocket boosters on Tuesday for [eventual display at the California Science Center’s Samuel Oschin Air and Space Center](. Thank you for reading. You can reach me and the First Up team at [firstup@thestar.ca](mailto:firstup@thestar.ca?source=newsletter&utm_source=ts_nl&utm_medium=emailutm_email=6C53B63A8E3FAD70AD4EF13004527437&utm_campaign=frst_208080). I’ll see you back here tomorrow. Get unlimited access to the Star Sale: Only $2 every four weeks. Cancel anytime. [Get This Offer]( If you're not enjoying these emails, please tell us how we can make them better by emailing newsletterfeedback@thestar.ca. 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