Suspect Facing Charges Following Kijiji Fraud Investigation
Published May 30, 2019 at 5:29 pm
One suspect is facing a number of charges following a Kijiji fraud investigation.
One suspect is facing a number of charges following a Kijiji fraud investigation.
According to police, the Halton Regional Police Service’s Regional Fraud Unit has charged one person in connection with a series of thefts involving the use of the online advertising service ‘Kijiji’.
Police say the thefts took place between October 2018 and February 2019.
“The suspect would seek out victims online who were selling diamond rings or loose diamonds and would engage them in conversations over email and text,” reads a recent Halton Police press release.
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According to police, the suspect identified as an employee of Morgan Stanley and used several different names (Rich Thompson, Alex Stanford, Cameron Woods and Albert August) to hide his true identity.
The suspect would then arrange to meet his victims in public locations (GO Stations, Hotels, etc.) to ensure the exchange was ‘safe’.
After meeting his victims, the suspect would give them a certified cheque in exchange for the diamond, leaving the area using public transit (usually a GO Train).
However, according to police, each cheque was determined to be fraudulent resulting in the victims losing over $25,000 collectively.
An investigation was started by the Regional Fraud Card Team along with the GO Transit Safety and Security Division.
The suspect was identified as Michael Morris (30) from Whitby.
And on May 2, 2019, with the assistance of the Durham Regional Police Tactical Support Unit, a criminal code search warrant was executed at the residence of the accused in Whitby.
However, according to police, at the time of the search, the accused was not located inside the residence and an arrest warrant was issued.
But on May 29, 2019, with the help of the Provincial ROPE squad and Halton Police’s Risk Mitigation Team, the accused was arrested without incident leaving a residence in Toronto.
The accused is facing the following alleged charges.
- Four counts of fraud over $5,000
- Four counts of using a forged document
- Two counts of personation with intent
- One count of possession of counterfeit money
The accused was held for bail.
Police believe there may be other occurrences involving the accused and are asking anyone with information regarding similar incidents to contact Detective Constable Mike Tidball of the Regional Fraud Card Team at 905 825-4747, ext. 8743.
Tips can also be submitted to Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 (TIPS) or through the web at www.haltoncrimestoppers.ca.
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