Michelle Jordan, 19, of Ajax, is the latest suspect in the plot to see unsuspecting seniors handing out large sums of money in exchange for the fictitious release of their grandchildren by police.
He is charged with three counts of fraud over $ 5,000 and three counts of possession of proceeds of crime over $ 5,000.
Investigators believe that since March 2021, about 100 allegations of alleged fraud have been made to the police. The estimated total amount of money generated by the fraud is believed to be over $ 1.1 million, police said.
In Jordan’s case, on March 24, a 78-year-old woman reportedly contacted a man pretending to be her grandson. The man told the woman he had been arrested by police and was calling a police station.
At that point, the phone was reportedly handed over to another man, who was posing as a police officer. The fake police officer told the woman that her grandson was demanding a sum of money to be released from custody.
The woman then took the cash from her bank and shortly afterwards a woman went to the victim’s house to collect the money.
Police say Jordan was involved in the fraud for the second time on the same day, this time targeting an 83-year-old man. In this incident, Jordan allegedly collected a sum of money from the man only to return to the victim’s residence a day later, in an attempt to extract more money from him, at which point he was arrested.
Jordan is one of five people charged by police with fraud since December 2021, including Firas El-Helou, 21, of Toronto, Ayiinthan Sri Ranjan, 22, Stouffville, Ryan Enaya, 26 years old, Milton and Nikolaos Antonopoulos. 24, of Quebec.
Toronto police believe there are more victims and are asking anyone with information about their ongoing investigation to contact them at 416-808-7300 or Crime Stoppers.
In the meantime, the service has offered a number of tips to protect yourself and your loved ones:
Anyone receiving such a call or invitation should contact the police immediately. Law enforcement will never contact family members and will not ask for bail money or send someone to their home to pick up money. Do not go to your bank and withdraw money to give to a stranger from a frantic phone call. Do not send money via electronic transfer, do not buy gift cards or send money via courier service. Call another family member for clarification or police. Never confirm personal information over the phone
Hamilton Police also recorded an increase in reports of fraud in recent months and have repeatedly asked the public to be vigilant to avoid possible victimization.
