Veteran VPD Officer Charged in $3M Fraud Scheme

Nineteen people are out about $3 million, and police say the man who took it was the one who taught their kids to stay straight. ² The investors believed they were buying into homes. ⁴ The donors believed they were keeping British Columbia youth away from gangs. ³ Now both groups are named as alleged victims of the same constable, and both are waiting to learn whether any of the money comes back. ⁸

Const. Kalwinder "Kal" Dosanjh, a 26-year veteran of the Vancouver Police Department, was arrested on Sept. 3, 2026 in Surrey, B.C., and charged the same day. ³ Provincial Crown counsel approved four counts of fraud over $5,000, four counts of theft over $5,000 and one count of breach of trust by a public officer. ³ A co-accused, Sarabjit Singh Gill, 51, of Surrey, faces six of the fraud and theft counts tied to property deals. ¹¹ All charges are unproven, and Dosanjh has denied wrongdoing through his lawyers. ¹³

Police allege the conduct ran on two tracks from about December 2017 to July 2025. ⁸ Dosanjh and Gill were described as partners in three named development projects — Azura, Queen's Park and Sahara — and police allege investors in those projects were defrauded and had funds taken or misapplied. ⁴ Separately, police allege fraud over $5,000 and theft from Dosanjh's own charity, the KidsPlay Youth Foundation. ⁶ Police put the known loss at about $3 million across 19 victims and say more victims may emerge. ²

That second track is what gives this case its sting. ³ Dosanjh built his public reputation as an anti-gang figure and mentor, a decorated officer whose earlier assignments included financial crimes, drugs, undercover work and youth outreach. ¹⁷ He founded the KidsPlay Youth Foundation in 2015 to steer youth away from crime, and it was registered as a charity in 2019 under federal number 82102 5525 RR0001. ⁶ Police searched the foundation's Surrey offices and Dosanjh's home on Sept. 3 and removed boxes. ⁵ No revocation of charitable status has been announced and the charity has offered no detailed public response, but its survival is now an open question. ¹⁶

The file stayed hidden for about two and a half years. ¹ Complaints from multiple alleged victims reached the Vancouver Police Department in December 2023, and a dedicated team led by Supt. Mike Ritchie ran the case in secrecy until the arrest. ¹¹ Chief Const. Steve Rai kept the investigation in-house rather than referring it to the RCMP, saying options were constrained by the resources the probe required, and the Office of the Police Complaints Commissioner was notified from the outset. ² Kash Heed — a former West Vancouver police chief, a longtime former VPD officer who once supervised Dosanjh, and now a Richmond councillor — praised the department for a leak-free investigation and supported keeping it in-house. ¹

At his Sept. 4 news conference, Rai called the matter both significant and deeply concerning and the incidents profoundly troubling. ¹² He said it was deeply distressing when the actions of one individual cast a shadow over other members. ¹² Heed, interviewed on CBC News Hanomansing Tonight on Sept. 5, called the charges very disappointing and said the foundation is unlikely to survive. ¹ Dosanjh's most recent assignment was as a motorcycle traffic officer. ¹⁹ He was suspended immediately on arrest, and Rai has recommended suspension without pay to the Vancouver Police Board, a decision that typically takes about 30 days — meaning he is currently suspended with pay. ¹³

Dosanjh was released the same day and is not in custody. ¹³ Release conditions bar him from contacting the alleged investor victims, VPD members or Gill, and restrict him around the charity and any fundraising, while a publication ban covers the bail hearing. ¹³ His lawyers, Alliance Lawyers, said Mr. Dosanjh has committed no crime and is innocent of any wrongdoing and that an arrest is not evidence of guilt. ¹³ Reporting says his wife's political candidacy was affected when she was taken off a ballot, though she is not charged. ¹³

Separate civil lawsuits over the same developments are already before the B.C. Supreme Court, and both men have denied wrongdoing in those civil cases. ⁴ The B.C. Civil Forfeiture Office has been running a parallel process. ¹⁶ The VPD has opened a tip line at 604-717-2601 for anyone with information, and Rai has said more victims may come forward. ¹⁹ Dosanjh is due in Vancouver Provincial Court on Sept. 17 to fix a date, with the criminal allegations still untested and the charity he built to protect kids now in need of protection itself. ¹³