Mounties allege Harb committed fraud over Senate expense claims

OTTAWA — The RCMP says it has reasonable grounds to believe former Liberal MP and senator Mac Harb committed fraud and breach of trust in filing living expense claims in the Senate dating to 2003.

A sworn statement by Cpl. Greg Horton, made public Wednesday, details his interviews with Harb’s staff, neighbours and contractors to challenge Harb’s claim that he lived outside of Ottawa while claiming $230,000 in expenses for time he spent in the city.

The investigation is probing Harb’s claim that he had a primary residence at least 100 kilometres outside the city, allowing him to claim per diems and living expens- es for time spent in a secondary residence in the National Capital Region.

Horton says that, while Harb owned homes in both Cobden and Westmeath in Ontario, his investigation found that neither actually served as Harb’s primary residence.

“I believe he has lived primarily in the NCR, and as such was not entitled to collect a housing allowance claiming the residence as secondary,” Horton writes in the court document.

Horton says that the home in Cobden that Harb had designated as primary residence between 2003 and 2007 was “largely uninhabitable” and reported that the politician was rarely seen at the property.

The same issue of resi- dency is at the centre of the expense scandal enveloping senators Mike Duffy and Patrick Brazeau, who have both left the Conservative caucus.

Although he initially intended to challenge the Senate’s demand he repay the expense claims, and filed a lawsuit in Ontario court, Harb later changed course and resigned from the Senate, allowing him to collect a pension.

Horton also notes that Harb sold the Cobden home to diplomat Magdeline Teo, the former high commissioner for Brunei, but retained a 0.01 per cent share in the home and continued to claim it as his primary residence until 2011.

Neither Harb nor his lawyer could immediately be reached Wednesday.