AToronto Uber driverhad multiple bank accounts frozen abruptly after he fraudulently claimed over $4.5 million in COVID-19 aid, court documents show.

The case, firstreported by the Globe and Mail, highlights how some emergency relief programs during lockdowns were wrongfully taken advantage of by some recipients.

Rabih George Barake — who was an Uber driver at the time — had previously dissolved the majority of his 16 businesses, but allegedly revived their websites shortly before applying for emergency loans between March and November 2021.

The Uber driver received a total of $4.58 million inHighly Affected Sectors Credit Availability Program (HASCAP)andCanada Emergency Business Account (CEBA)loans.

Scotiabank froze 13 of Barake's accounts in January 2022 after becoming concerned that he may have fraudulently received millions of dollars in aid. Just two months later, Scotia Capital froze his investment accounts which were valued at $1.3 million, according to court documents.

In June 2022, Barake sued the bank for damages of $80 million for the losses he suffered as a result of his frozen accounts, but Judge Michael Penny at the Ontario Court of Justice ruled in favour of Scotiabank's counterclaim.

Barake was ordered to pay back $4.5 million he received in loans and punitive damages of $1.5 million.

The federal government first opened applications for CEBA loans back in April 2020, and offered interest-free loans of up to $60,000 to small businesses and not-for-profits.

"Businesses that ultimately did not meet the eligibility criteria for a CEBA loan have been contacted and are required to repay their loans in full by December 2022," a spokespersontold the Globe and Mail.

According to the federal government, nearly 900,000 businesses were approved for CEBA loans as of Jan. 26, 2022.