A legal complaint lodged in the Supreme Court of British Columbia alleges that three employees of a Denny’s restaurant in Kamloops embezzled over $500,000 from the establishment between 2023 and 2025. The Kamloops RCMP has confirmed that they are actively investigating the accusations.
The lawsuit, initiated by Northland Properties Corporation, the parent company of Denny’s in Canada, claims that an audit revealed that $11,000 was improperly transferred from the restaurant’s electronic tip system by two employees. A third employee is implicated in the scheme for allegedly orchestrating the theft of more than $494,000 in the past.
The lawsuit, consisting of five pages, does not provide extensive details on how the alleged scheme operated or how the tipping system was exploited. According to the claim, Denny’s employs a digital tip distribution platform called Tips Today to manage and distribute funds among its staff.
The legal action was filed on December 16 after unauthorized digital transfers were discovered from the electronic tip system to an account linked to one of the defendants. The defendants’ identities have not been disclosed by CBC News pending their response to the allegations and legal representation.
Northland alleges that the first two employees collaborated to transfer tips illicitly, with one employee accessing the tip platform using codes to transfer money to the other, who then returned a portion of the funds back. The lawsuit suggests that the scheme was inspired by a former employee’s actions, with the third defendant suspected of misappropriating a significant sum over a two-year period.
The lawsuit asserts that the defendants violated their duties of honesty, fidelity, confidentiality, and proper use of employer resources, resulting in their unjust enrichment at the expense of the plaintiff. Northland is seeking compensation for theft, fraud, breach of employment obligations, and other misconduct, including the return of the allegedly stolen funds.