Fraud suspect linked to wallet, purse thefts from hospital

Ottawa police are looking for this man caught on surveillance video, suspected of stealing wallets and purses from a local hospital and using stolen credit and debit cards. (Courtesy: Ottawa Police)


CTV Ottawa
Published Wednesday, September 30, 2015 3:40PM EDT

Ottawa police are asking for the public’s help to identify a man suspected of stealing wallets and purses from a local hospital, then spending thousands of dollars with the victims’ stolen debit and credit cards.
On July 17, an elderly woman visiting the hospital reported that her purse was stolen. Police say about $3,000 was spent on her debit and credit cards at several ATMS and at businesses along Carling Ave., Preston St. and at Bayshore Shopping Centre.
On September 20, a 45-year-old woman visiting the hospital reported that her wallet was stolen, as was the wallet of the patient she was visiting.
Their cards were used at various ATMs and stores on Carling Ave.
The suspect was described by witnesses as a black man, about 5’10,” between 40 and 50 years old and wearing distinct clothing. He was caught on a surveillance camera wearing a necktie and cardigan sweater, and appears to be bald and slim.
Anyone with information is asked to contact Ottawa police.
 

 

http://ottawa.ctvnews.ca/fraud-suspect-linked-to-wallet-purse-thefts-from-hospital-1.2588677

Four charged in auto theft ring

by sarabuchan

Posted Sep 17, 2015 1:12 pm EDT

Ottawa Police http://www.ottawapolice.ca/en/News/index.aspx?newsId=1d7c04d2-19a0-42a7-911f-3cdd55b66d9c

OTTAWA–Four men face a string of charges connected to an auto theft ring operating in the capital region.
Ottawa Police and MRC Des Collines conducted a joint investigation begun last winter and wrapped in August.
Police seized 26 vehicles that’d been stolen in Ontario and Quebec, given new VIN numbers, registered in this province, and then sold at $30,000 to $40,000 below market value.
Two men — 29-year old Sasha Bouffard of Gatineau and 31-year old Calibur Kiesman of Ottawa– pled guilty to related charges. Bouffard will be sentenced next month, while Keisman has been sentenced to 12-month conditional sentence and 12-months probation.
two other men, 68-year old Salvatore Donato and 50-year old Joey Masse, face related charges that include fraud, trafficking in property obtained by crime, and possession of the proceeds of crime.

http://www.1310news.com/2015/09/17/four-charged-in-auto-theft-ring/

Taxi drivers scammed out of $1,000 as police investigate

Suspects allegedly borrowed large amounts of money and left collateral worth little

CBC News Posted: Sep 16, 2015 2:38 PM ET Last Updated: Sep 16, 2015 2:44 PM ET

These three people are believed to be suspects in a fraud case where taxi drivers are scammed into lending at least $1,000. (Ottawa Police Service)

Ottawa police are investigating after two taxi drivers say they were scammed by passengers who asked to borrow large amounts of money, but promised to return the cash.

Police said they began investigating two recent reports, involving three suspects, where more than $1,000 is borrowed as the suspect left a type of collateral behind, such as jewellery.

In both cases, the suspect enters a multiple unit building to supposedly "conduct an important business transaction."

Police said the suspects would not return to the taxi and the collateral is worth very little.

The three suspects are described as:

• Black man, 35 to 40 years old, bald with a thin build.
• Black man, 25 to 35 years old, dark hair, chin-strap beard, larger build with a tattoo on right side of neck.
• White woman, 40 to 50 years old, heavy build, long dirty blonde/brown hair, wearing glasses.

Anyone with information about this investigation is asked to call police at 613-236-1222, ext. 5677 or ext. 5678, or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.

http://ottawacitizen.com/news/local-news/egan-sticky-gold-fingers-rcmp-allege-inside-theft-at-royal-canadian-mint

Egan: Sticky gold fingers — RCMP allege inside theft at Royal Canadian Mint

KELLY EGAN, OTTAWA CITIZEN
More from Kelly Egan, Ottawa Citizen

Published on: September 11, 2015 | Last Updated: September 11, 2015 4:43 PM EDT

On Sept. 16, in Courtroom No. 5, an Ottawa man is to appear on charges with a Hollywood ring: smuggling gold from the fortress-like Royal Canadian Mint.

And not just a flake or two. Leston Lawrence, 34, of Barrhaven, is facing five criminal charges, including theft over $5,000, laundering the proceeds of crime, possession of property obtained by crime and, in the often arcane language of the Criminal Code, “conveying metal out of the Mint.”

According to a document sworn by an RCMP officer, the charges relate to activity between Nov. 27, 2014 and March 12 this year.

It was all kept hush-hush, of course. No news release from any law enforcement agency, or the Mint, headquartered on Sussex Drive; no amounts disclosed. But Ottawa is a small town where the sidewalks whisper. So a tipster called us.

A Mint spokesman declined comment on the matter, except to say an unidentified employee had been terminated earlier this year. Curiously, Christine Aquino said the Mint had been “informed” of the charges by the Mounties, rather than instigating the investigation itself.

In other words, the alleged theft appears to have gone undetected at the Mint.

History might shed some light here, as the Mint has been victimized by inside jobs at least twice since it opened in 1908. And motive certainly meets opportunity: it had sales of 709,000 ounces of gold bullion in 2014 alone and production of some two billion coins.

The earlier cases suggest that thieves initially get away with the actual stealing of the gold but get caught in the fencing. The charges, taken together, allege a similar thing happened in this case.

One day in 1996, a Mint machinist named Richard Gauthier walked out — or somehow spirited out — 85 ounces of gold in eight bars. At his sentencing in 1998, a Mint official admitted they were never able to figure out how the precious metal left the building.

As a consequence, the theft charge against Gauthier was dropped. There was speculation the Mint was happy with that news, otherwise it would have exposed its internal security systems, with all its sensors, scanners, cameras and what not, which apparently work some of the time.

The court did hear that Gauthier sold the gold to a Hull man for $8,000, who flipped it to another company, who sold it to a legitimate metals company in Montreal, who tried to sell it back to the Mint. When the Mint saw the product, the jig was up.

Crime, as we all know, doesn’t pay. Gauthier was handed a suspended sentence of nine months in jail — evading prison — and ordered to do 50 hours of community work.

I found it curious that the Mint did not offer any assurance this week that, as a Crown corporation, it has the utmost concern for security and the latest technology to protect a valuable public asset. Or that it is reviewing measures in light of these allegations. So, mysteries abound. So does glitter: the Mint had revenues of $2.4 billion in 2014, the bulk of it from the sale of gold coins and bullion.

These accusations of theft laid in July sit uncomfortably with the 2009 news — covered nationally — that the Mint had 17,500 troy ounces of “unreconciled” gold product on its books. In other words, millions in gold was missing and the Mint was not entirely sure whether it was a record-keeping lag or some grand heist.

Even the RCMP was called in, finally concluding there was no evidence of a crime. Still, it looked bad.

“First and foremost,” said an audit report, completed after much hand-wringing, “it was determined that the unreconciled difference was not the result of criminal activities, either by theft, fraud or reasons relating to data manipulations of the IT systems.”

Well, if you say so.

There was, too, a case in 1990 when a janitor was sentenced to a year in jail for stealing $30,000 in gold from the Mint.

Court was told Revenue Canada investigators found George Allen, then 59, had roughly $150,000 in unexplained income between 1985 and 1988, not to mention some fancy toys, like a $37,000 boat and a $27,000 trailer.

Similarly, a Mint security officer told court there was no way to know how much gold, in total, had gone missing.

At this sentencing, the court heard that Allen, a 23-year veteran, was nabbed by a new walk-through metal detector. When it set off, an inspection found Allen was hiding something in his briefs. A search found 49 ounces of gold in his locker.

Gary Barnes has been retained as Lawrence’s defence lawyer. He said his client, who is not in custody, intends to plead not guilty. Mint on Sussex Drive. PAT MCGRATH / THE OTTAWA COn Sept. 16, in Courtroom No. 5, an Ottawa man is to appear on charges with a Hollywood ring: smuggling gold from the fortress-like Royal Canadian MinAnd not just a flake or two. Leston Lawrence, 34, of Barrhaven, is facing five criminal charges, including theft over $5,000, laundering the proceeds of crime, possession of property obtained by crime and, in the often arcane language of the Criminal Code, “conveying metal out of the MinAccording to a document sworn by an RCMP officer, the charges relate to activity between Nov. 27, 2014 and March 12 this year.

Police Remind Public to Beware of False Job Scam

http://ottawacitizen.com/news/local-news/police-remind-public-to-beware-of-false-job-scam

Ottawa police are reminding citizens to be wary of an ongoing scam in which people are offered jobs that turn out to be false, and leads to raids on their bank accounts.

The “offers” are made on some job sites, web ads, unsolicited emails or texts or in newspapers.

People who answer the ads are told they’ve received the jobs and are sent cheques or other instruments they are told to deposit into their accounts.

They are then instructed to send a portion of the payment to a third party, usually via money transfer company and told to keep the “balance” as job payment.

“Once they send the money on, the bank calls to inform them that the cheque or e-transfer was fraudulent and that their account is overdrawn or frozen,” police say in a release.

Police remind people to never send money to anyone you do not know or trust. You can see other tips at this website.

People who’ve been victimized by this or other scams can make a report at 613-236-1222, ext. 7300. The call centre is tracking all complaints and forwarding them to organized fraud investigators.