On March 06, 2024, Cameron Ortis, a former head of Canadian Police Intelligence, was sentenced to 14 years in prison for leaking top-secret information, which includes time served prior to trial. It was the first-time charges under the Security of Information Act were tested in court.
Ortis was arrested in 2019 and charged with six counts, including violating national security laws and was convicted in November 2023, following an eight-week trial in Ottawa.
Ortis utilized his position to leak sensitive data in 2015 to Phantom Secure CEO Vincent Ramos, who supplied encrypted cellphones to organized crime factions. Ortis requested nearly C$27,500 in return for disclosing police operation details. Additionally, he attempted to leak information to Salim Henareh and Muhammad Ashraf, suspected agents of an international money-laundering network with terror connections and to Farzam Mehdizadeh, one of the most important money launderers in the world. Ortis was accused of sharing Canadian intelligence and data from Five Eyes alliance partners, comprising the U.S., the U.K., New Zealand, and Australia, despite Canada’s commitment to safeguarding pooled intelligence.
