$73,000: Assisted living worker admits to defrauding mentally ill client

An Edmonton assisted living worker has pleaded guilty to defrauding a mentally ill client of more than $73,000 while employed by a private agency previously listed as an option for hospital discharges in Alberta.

Contentment Social Services Foundation (CSSF) program manager and housing worker Shum Yousouf admitted to defrauding client Christopher Domoslai of $73,225 over a period spanning 2022 and 2023, CBC reported, citing an agreed statement of facts filed in court.

Domoslai, then 59 and hospitalised, required assistance with daily living. In April 2022, his sister enrolled him in CSSF services. The one‑year agreement set a monthly fee of $1,450, paid by automatic withdrawal, covering rent in an apartment, two meals a day, room cleaning and transportation to medical appointments, according to the report.

Toronto’s fraud and waste hotline handled a heavy caseload in 2025, flagging both day‑to‑day staff misconduct and large‑scale schemes that together exposed more than $10 million in actual and potential losses, according to the city’s auditor general.

Banking access and e‑transfers

In February 2023, Yousouf told Domoslai his automatic withdrawals had stopped and took him to the bank to obtain a bank draft of $1,600, above the contracted monthly fee, according to the agreed statement of facts. Around the same time, she helped him set up online banking.

“Domoslai had not previously set up online banking because he was not, and is not, capable of navigating such a platform,” the filing states, as reported by CBC News.

In March and April 2023, Yousouf admitted to taking Domoslai to obtain further bank drafts of $1,600. Then, in July 2023, she accessed his online bank account without his knowledge, according to the court document.

Over the next six months, she sent 61 e‑transfers from his account. CBC News reports that $63,445 was deposited into CSSF’s bank account, while $3,500 was transferred to Yousouf’s personal account. “At the time these transfers began, CSSF did not have sufficient funds to sustain its operations,” the court filing states.

In July, September and October 2023, Yousouf again accessed Domoslai’s account to send six payments totalling $10,650 to a property management company that managed two buildings with CSSF clients, according to the report. By December 2023, after obtaining power of attorney, Domoslai’s sister checked his accounts and discovered that only about $5,000 remained.

Fake CEO, civil action and prior charges

After the missing funds were discovered, Domoslai’s sister received correspondence from someone identifying as “Shum Shabit, CEO of CSSF.” The agreed statement of facts says the message was actually sent by Yousouf. The document states that the correspondence claimed an employee named “Sabrina Smith” was responsible for the criminal transactions and that CSSF would pay restitution. “Sabrina Smith is a fictitious character,” the filing notes, as quoted by CBC News.

Restitution efforts resulted in only a small portion of the money being returned, and the family terminated CSSF’s services in the summer of 2024, according to the report. Court documents indicate that the defrauded funds were used to pay CSSF expenses, cover Yousouf’s daily costs and send e‑transfers to her and her relatives. Banking records did not suggest she was receiving a regular paycheque or making “luxurious purchases with the defrauded funds,” according to the report.

Police press fraud, theft charges

Edmonton Police Service (EPS) said a former director with Contentment Social Services was facing one charge each of fraud and theft over $5,000, alleging she used “her position of trust to gain access to a victim’s bank account and take money without their consent,” according to a report from CTV News. 

EPS said its financial crimes section took over the file and identified similar allegations dating back to December 2023. CTV News reported that Yousouf was arrested and charged, and that the province had concluded a review into the misuse of client funds by Contentment Social Services and taken legal action in response. Police said they believed there could be additional victims and urged anyone with concerns to contact EPS, according to the report..

Yousouf was charged by Edmonton police in March 2025 in connection with incidents dating back to 2023, following broader concerns about CSSF’s operations.

Previously, Calgary dentist Alena Smadych admitted to a decade-long insurance fraud scheme worth nearly $700,000.