The Regina Police Service have laid charges against two men in connection to their fraud investigation where a local business was bilked out of more than $1 million.

Fifty-three-year-old Hugo Gallegos was arrested in Calgary and charged with Fraud over $5,000 and Laundering the Proceeds of Crime.

And 72-year-old Dennis Medernach of Saskatoon is charged with Fraud over $5,000, Laundering the Proceeds of Crime, and Possession of Property Obtained by Crime Over $5,000.

In 2015 Gallegos was sentenced to five years in prison for defrauding Whitecap Dakota First Nation while he was their accountant. He was also ordered to provide $5.8 million in restitution to the First Nation.

Regina Police say a local business reported to police they had been the victim of a large theft and fraud. After more than two years of investigation two people were charged, one of them a former employee.

Regina Police say their investigators determined that between 2021 and 2023 the former employee sent numerous unauthorized payments to himself, as well as the second suspect. It was also determined he used company funds to make payments on a personal automobile loan, rent and to pay off credit cards. The former employee had overseen the company books and accounting duties.