Online Fraud- Person of Interest

http://crimestoppers.ca/2015/12/30/ottawa-online-fraud-person-of-interest/

– December 30, 2015Posted in: Fraud, Ottawa

On Monday November 23^rd 2015 unknown suspect gained access to an online bank account and committed a fraudulent transaction.
The victim purchased a refurbished laptop from an online classified ad then met with the unknown male at a public place to complete the sale. It is believed the computer contained applications that tracked personal information that led to fraudulent transactions. The unknown male is now wanted for questioning by police investigator. Suspects may also be responsible for other similar incidences.
If you know the identity of the suspect or other criminal activity call Crime Stoppers toll-free at 1-800-222-8477 FREE (TIPS). Remember Crime Stoppers does not subscribe to call display, we will not ask your name or record your call and you are not required to testify in court. If your information leads to his identity, you could qualify for a cash reward of up to $2000. You can follow us on Facebook, YouTube and Twitter.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/debit-card-fraud-atm-scam-1.3411833

Debit card fraud suspects arrested for alleged $350K ATM scam

2 men from Ontario expected to appear in Quebec courts today

CBC News Posted: Jan 20, 2016 11:37 AM ET Last Updated: Jan 20, 2016 11:37 AM ET

Police believe the suspects installed their own card-reading devices and cameras in automated teller machines. (CBC)

Two men have been arrested in Ontario for allegedly operating a debit card fraud using automated teller machines installed in Quebec and Ontario to net approximately $350,000. 

Quebec provincial police received support from regional police in Peel and Halton, Ont., in order to conduct three raids early Wednesday morning. Police arrested two men during the raids.

Police believe the suspects installed their own card-reading devices and cameras in 90 ATMs. The card-reading devices skimmed the cards for bank information, while the cameras read customers' banking PINs.

The men allegedly did this in Montreal, St-Jérôme, Gatineau and Quebec City.

Both are expected to appear in court today to face charges of fraud and identity theft.

Counterfeiters perplexed by Canada's plastic money

RCMP seizures show even the best attempts to simulate new bills' security features are easy to spot

By Alison Crawford, CBC News Posted: Jan 13, 2016 5:16 PM ET Last Updated: Jan 13, 2016 8:09 PM ET

Canada's plastic money is stumping counterfeiters. The RCMP estimate the number of fake bills passed on to retailers in 2015 dropped by 74 per cent compared with the previous year.

That doesn't mean people have given up trying to copy Canada's banknotes — it's just that even their best attempts to make fake cash are falling well short.

Regina Police Const. Scott Wolfe hasn't seen much counterfeit currency since the Bank of Canada introduced polymer money four years ago, but he did have a case last fall."When we first touched the bill you could tell it wasn't the polymer feel. It was paper. We could see they had cut out the security window from a real $5 bill and pasted it to a $50 and $100 bill," said Wolfe.

Regina police Const. Scott Wolfe is a commercial crime investigator. He says he hasn't seen any good counterfeit polymer bills yet. (CBC)

The face in the hologram didn't match the face on the bill and the edges were uneven. Even so, the money was successfully passed on to retailers, perhaps in a dimly lit bar or sandwiched between two authentic notes.

Wolfe said people passing counterfeit bills often pay for an inexpensive item with a high-value bill in order to get lots of change in authentic currency.

National Anti-Counterfeiting Bureau

The bills in Wolfe's case, like all bills turned over to police across Canada, eventually end up at the RCMP's National Anti-Counterfeiting Bureau in Ottawa. CBC News was granted exclusive access to the facility that examines counterfeit money, credit cards and official documents such as passports and driver's licences.

"Generally we're seeing a poor to medium-quality counterfeit note," said Robert Moyes, examiner of counterfeit for the RCMP.

A specialist examines a $20 bill at the RCMP National Anti-Counterfeiting Bureau. (CBC)

About 10 years ago, when counterfeiting was at its height in Canada, Moyes said, his lab would receive up to 45,000 notes every month. In December, Moyes said, the lab received 1,500 bills and many were copies of older-series paper notes, which are easier to fake.

'Nothing is counterfeit-proof … Everything can be simulated.'–Robert Moyes, examiner of counterfeit for theRCMP

"It's more of a challenge to the counterfeiter to produce these [new banknotes] and the simulation of the security features has been very poor," said Moyes.

Most of the counterfeit polymer bills are printed on paper. Some used paper with a waxy or plastic coating. A few bills look passable from a distance, but up close are too shiny and slippery.

One $50 bill OK at first glance — but the other side is completely blank.

"You only need to pass it once and the cashier is not going to turn [the bill] over," said Moyes.

Glittery giftwrap and a roll of tape

Several $5 bills at the bureau feature strips of glittery wrapping paper taped to transparent plastic strips in a crude attempt to simulate security holograms. Moyes said others go a step further by buying holographic sheets from shops in China. Shipments of the holographic sheets have even been seized by the Canada Border Services Agency.

"There's your average counterfeiter, who is short of money and they may produce 10 or 20 notes. We have organized crime, we have the biker gangs. Those tend to be the large contributors to our office."

Two counterfeit $5 bills are displayed at the RCMP National Anti-Counterfeiting Bureau. The holographic strip on both bills has been tampered with. (CBC)

All of the bills received by the bureau are examined by specialists under microscopes and different sources of light. 

When a technician puts a genuine $50 bill under a high-powered microscope, the image of an eyeball comes up on a large computer screen. It's easy to see several security features, including the fine detail of raised red ink from an engraved plate. Even though that feature can only be seen under a microscope, it's something you can feel under your fingertips or by running a fingernail across the bill.

"It's got life to it. There's a tactility," Moyes said, adding that just the "feel" of a bill is one of the best ways a regular person can detect a fake.

When the genuine $50 bill is replaced under the microscope with a fake, it appears muddy on the screen.

"This is the eyeball — you can see the lack of line work, resolution. And in some cases, if it's toner, it flakes right off," Moyes points out.

A genuine and fake $20 bill are compared under a microscope. The genuine $20 on the left has crisper features. The counterfeit bill on the right is pixelated and blurry. (CBC)

Other bills are examined under three different sources of light. In the case of one $100 bill, a copy of an older-series paper note, the counterfeiter has done a respectable job adding ultraviolet features. Some retailers use UV boxes to test bills. Moyes said this bill likely would have passed such a test, which is why the RCMP and Bank of Canada recommend looking for more than one of the security features on higher-value bills.

Nothing is counterfeit-proof

Passing paper bills is just going to get harder as they disappear from circulation. The Bank of Canada estimates 80 per cent of notes in circulation are polymer. The disappearance of Canada's paper notes will likely force fakers to try to improve their efforts at counterfeiting polymer.

Robert Moyes has been working at the RCMP National Anti-Counterfeiting Bureau for 31 years. He says anything can be counterfeited, but the new polymer bills are proving a difficult challenge. (CBC)

"They'll always be doing that. Nothing is counterfeit-proof," said Moyes. "Everything can be simulated."

According to Moyes, more sophisticated polymer counterfeits are surfacing in Australia, where polymer bills are produced, and Mexico, where they are processed. That's why the bureau is conducting its own research to keep ahead of trends. In one room, staff experiment with 3D printers to see how criminals could possibly use the machines.

• Interactive: Zoom in on $100 bill's security features
• Interactive: Zoom in on the $5 and $10 bills

"It takes a while for the counterfeiter to experiment. And we are seeing the experiments. The Bank of Canada is aware of that and the Bank of Canada is currently looking at the next series," he said.

Pembroke lawyer being investigated for allegations of professional misconduct

http://ottawa.ctvnews.ca/pembroke-lawyer-being-investigated-for-allegations-of-professional-misconduct-1.2736242

Joanne Schnurr, CTV Ottawa
Published Wednesday, January 13, 2016 5:34PM EST
Last Updated Wednesday, January 13, 2016 6:46PM EST

A Pembroke lawyer is under investigation for professional misconduct after allegations about missing money. The Law Society of Upper Canada is looking into it and so are the police. The law firm of Kenneth J. Conroy and Associates is no longer operating in Pembroke. It is believed lawyer Ken Conroy is no longer in town but he is certainly the talk of the town.
Cobden resident Julie Wright has taken on a second job in order to make ends meet. She works full time at a restaurant and now does dog grooming to help pay the bills
 “I am basically just living day to day off my paycheques,” she says.

Photos

Julie Wright and son Mike going through legal documents.

Wright was going through a bitter divorce and hired Pembroke lawyer Ken Conroy to handle the settlement. She says when her settlement was done, she was short nearly $100,000.
“I called police immediately,” says the diminutive woman, “the police said they were already aware of it and had moved up to higher inspectors because it was out of range of most police officers to do an investigation of this magnitude.”
Wright also contacted the Law Society of Upper Canada.  In a statement to CTV, the Law Society said "it cannot confirm or deny whether a complaint has been received, or if it is investigating any specific matter, unless and until the matter results in a regulatory hearing."
However Conroy's law firm on Pembroke Street East is no longer operating out of the building.
According to a document on the Law Society’s website, the Law Society was appointed, by order of the Superior Court of Justice, as trustee of the professional business of Joseph Gordon Kenneth Conroy in August of last year. The law society took over the practice and took possession of all the property related to that practice.  In October, Conroy signed an undertaking not to practice law in Ontario.
CTV spoke with another client of Conroy's who alleges they too lost $100, 000.
 Julie wright's son believes there may be many others in the same situation.
“I spoke with the police investigator,” says Mike Dunbar, who has moved back home to help his mother, “and they said the scope and scale is so big they can't put it in words, it's in the thousands of thousands of dollars.”
Attempts to try to reach Ken Conroy today were unsuccessful.  But in his undertaking to the Law Society, he denies any wrongdoing.
Julie Wright has applied to the law society for compensation. She is hoping she may get some of her money back but says she will have to keep her two jobs until she does.
 Ontario Provincial Police would not agree to an interview with CTV but they did confirm they have received three separate complaints so far regarding allegations of missing money.

Ottawa Hospital files lawsuit against former directors, contractors

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/ottawa-hospital-files-lawsuit-against-former-directors-contractors-1.3392100

 

Alleged kickbacks include luxury trips, discounts on cars, free personal home renos

CBC News Posted: Jan 06, 2016 5:04 PM ET Last Updated: Jan 06, 2016 5:37 PM ET

Related Stories

• Ottawa Hospital refers audit results to police, launches civil suit

The Ottawa Hospital has accused two longtime former directors in charge of large budgets and projects of conspiring with contractors to defraud the hospital in exchange for luxury vacations, family favours and deep personal discounts, according to a statement of claim filed yesterday.

• Ottawa Hospital refers audit to police, launches civil suit

Frank Medwenitsch, the former director of planning and capital projects with a signing authority of $100,000, and Brock Marshall, the former director of engineering and operations responsible for procuring contractors, are accused of breaching their fiduciary duty through fraud, embezzlement and misappropriation of funds, according to the statement of claim.
The 29-page statement of claim alleges that Medwenitsch arranged a job for his daughter at Federal Electric without her knowledge, and in return allowed the company to bill at inflated prices for its work on hospital projects.
"$1,280 of the $6,300 picks up Katrina — the remainder goes towards the project," an August 2014 text message from Medwenitsch to Federal Electric read, according to the statement of claim.
Medwenitsch resigned in October 2015 and Marshall retired in April 2015, after being offered an early retirement package. The hospital's statement of claim says it "had no knowledge of the fraudulent scheme" when it offered Marshall a retirement package.
The Ottawa Hospital launched an external audit in 2015 after noticing irregularities in its planning and facilities department. It said in a statement on its website that it has referred the case to police.

Allegations of improper bidding advantages

In addition to Medwenitsch and Marshall, the other defendants listed in the statement of claim are:

• Federal Electric and its director Larry St. Pierre. According to the statement of claim, Federal Electric was prequalified on the hospital's list of electric contractors for projects up to $7.5 million.​ 
• DRS Construction (incorporated as 1436937 Ontario Inc.) and its director Gerry Dubé, both involved in projects at the hospital since 2000. DRS was prequalified on the hospital's list of general contractors for projects up to $250,000 in 2011, according to the statement of claim. 
• GAL Power Systems Ottawa and its director Guy Adrian Lapierre. 
• Pro Management Construction, Ottawa Diamond Construction and Roch St-Louis, who is the director of the former and operator of the latter.

Medwenitsch and Marshall are accused of giving the companies improper advantages, including handing over advanced copies of procurement documents, internal hospital communications about projects and information about their competitors' bids, according to the statement of claim.
The former directors are also accused of "knowingly" approving invoices for work that was not performed or not yet complete, and approving inflated prices.
The hospital also alleges that Medwenitsch conspired with Dubé and St-Louis to "essentially extort Marshall" in 2014 to pay for "unsupported and improper" invoices dating back to 2010.
The suit calls for to yet-to-be determined fraudulent financial damages, as well as $250,000 in punitive damages.
The hospital asks for access to financial assets, accounts and transactions of each of the defendants in order to trace the monies believed to be fraudulently obtained. It also requests injunctions to prevent "the defendants from disposing of any of their assets."

Alleged kickbacks include luxury vacations

Federal Electric and GAL Power Systems Ottawa allegedly contributed to the cost of several fishing trips that Medwenitsch attended including a "lavish fishing trip" in July 2015 that continued on to San Francisco and the Napa Valley, according to the statement of claim.
Dubé, who owned an automotive business, is accused of selling "multiple cars" to Marshall and his family "at below cost or no cost" between 2012 and 2014, according to the statement of claim.
Pro Management Construction and Ottawa Diamond Construction allegedly painted, fixed the roof and did other home repairs for Marshall and his daughter at below cost or no cost.
GAL Power Systems Ottawa also employed Medwenitsch's other daughter between 2009 and 2010, but it is unknown whether kickbacks were involved, according to the statement of claim.
The Ottawa Hospital claims these, and other kickbacks listed in the statement of claim, were not declared to the hospital.
None of these allegations have been proven in court. The defendants that CBC were able to contact refused to comment at this time.
Read the full statement of claim here.

 

Mounties warn of phone scam targetting immigrants and refugees

http://www.cfra.com/news/2016/01/04/mounties-warn-of-phone-scam-targetting-immigrants-and-refugees

The Mounties are warning the public about a telephone scam targetting immigrants and refugees.
In the scam, a caller pretending to be from Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada tells the victim they owe thousands of dollars.
RCMP Sgt. Penny Hermann said the caller gets aggressive, threatening to deport the person and separate them from their family.
"A government [official] would not be making any kind of threat whatsoever like that," she said. "They would not be making phone calls like that to begin with, but they wouldn't be threatening anything. You'll notice that it has serious threats on there."
She said if you receive a call of this nature, you should not pay any money and follow these steps:

• Write down the number the call came from if you have call display
• Look up the real number for the agency in question. Call them to confirm whether they were trying to get in touch with you
• If not, call police to report the call
  
  

  RCMP released the following example of this type of scam as part of their Fraud Awareness Campaign:

  ---

  IRCC Imposter: Hello this is Immigration Refugees and Citizenship Canada calling, I have bad news for you.
  Taunya: Sorry? Who is this?
  IRCC Imposter: This is Roger___ (an Anglophone surname, which is confusing as it is contrasted by a strong ethnic accent) from Immigration Refugees and Citizenship Canada. Your status has changed and you must pay additional fees.
  Taunya: I don't understand.
  IRCC Imposter: Please confirm your full name and address as well as those who live with you?
  Taunya: I don't understand. I live alone with my 5 year old daughter. I live at 105 Main Street.
  IRCC Imposter: Please provide your passport number?
  Taunya: CDN2015
  IRCC Imposter: What do you do for a living?
  Taunya: I work full time and study part time.
  IRCC Imposter: You changed your status without advising Immigration Refugees and Citizenship Canada and as a result you must pay additional fees. You owe $12,000.
  Taunya: I don't know how that could have happened, I can't afford that.
  IRCC Imposter: (irritated by the amount of time that he has spent to get his point across, is now yelling into the phone) YOU WILL BE ARRESTED BY THE POLICE TODAY AND DEPORTED AND SEPARATED FROM YOUR CHILD, DO YOU WANT THAT TO HAPPEN?
  Taunya: Of course not! No!
  IRCC Imposter: Good, then you will go to the nearest Western Union or MoneyGram and you will follow my directions.
  Taunya: Does not make any sense! I am going to record this and call the police.
  IRCC Imposter: (yelling) DO YOU KNOW WHERE YOUR DAUGHTER IS NOW?
  Taunya: Pardon me? Is that a threat?
  IRCC Imposter: No, but your daughter will be kidnapped today (hangs up).
  Although Taunya was extremely disturbed by the phone call, she saw through the imposter's ruse. And like many other fraudsters, the moment he was exposed, he ran. Fortunately, Taunya saw this for what it was...a scam. Unfortunately many new hard working Canadians are fooled and have lost money.
  What makes this worst is that many victims never report these incidents to the police. If you, a friend or family member has either received a call from a fraudster, or has lost money through this type of call, please report it. Lastly, if you are reading this, please do your part in sharing this message with everyone and help us to educate new Canadian's against this type of fraud.
  This is a fraud similar to the CRA scam. Both extort money from their victims through a number of different threats. Both of these frauds are being perpetuated coast to coast, and have impacted both male and female victims from many different age groups and cultural backgrounds.