The Laval Police say they recently arrested two suspects during an operation to find the perpetrators of a fraud scheme during which victims were robbed of more than $25,000.
On April 18, officers from the LPD executed two arrest warrants related to six cases of fraud alleged to have taken place on Laval’s territory during the autumn of 2023. The victims of the scheme were primarily senior citizens.
The LPD identified the suspects as Jean-Yves Caron, age 56, and Borris-Armel Bahouely Kraye, age 27. They both face charges of fraud over $5,000, theft of credit cards, and identify theft.
Caron was freed on bail after his initial arraignment, and he has another court date on July 26. The second suspect was still detained last week when the LPD released a statement, although he was expected to be arraigned in the following days.
If is alleged that one of the suspects would establish the initial contact by telephone with victims at their homes. He would pose as a bank employee and was known to use the name Jean-Pierre Labonté, telling the victims they had been targeted by fraud artists through their bank debit card.
After winning their confidence, the suspect would ask them to place their bank transaction cards in an envelope and write their personal identification number (PIN) on the envelope’s back. They would then be told that an investigator would pass by to pick up the envelope. The banking cards would then be used by the suspects to commit acts of fraud at automated teller machines (ATM) and in businesses.
The Laval Police say they have reason to believe that the two suspects had several victims in the greater Montreal region. As such, they are inviting people who don’t necessarily reside in Laval to come forward and share information or file a complaint if they feel they may also be among the victims.
The LPD is warning the public that no one should consider themselves to be above becoming the victim of fraud artists, as they’ve found that victims come from many walks of life and backgrounds. The police point out that bank employees don’t go to a client’s home to pick up documents or cash sums.
