The mayor of London has been charged with fraud following an investigation conducted by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.

In a release issued Wednesday afternoon, the RCMP said that the organization was contacted in October by the House of Commons regarding the alleged inappropriate use of funds by London Mayor Joseph Fontana while serving as an MP in 2005.

Fontana’s lawyer Gord Cudmore confirmed that his client was charged with fraud under $5,000, breach of trust by a public officer and uttering forged documents Wednesday morning.

Fontana was charged and released, and will be making a statement Thursday at 1 p.m. in London to address the charges, Cudmore said.

“Make no mistake, I treat the allegations that have been levied as serious,” Fontana said in a letter posted on his website Monday.

“But I have not and will not allow them to be a distraction from my duties and obligations of my office.”

The value of the alleged fraud is $1,700, a representative with the RCMP told CP24 Wednesday afternoon.

Fontana is schedule to appear in court in London on Jan. 8.