An alleged fraud artist from Laval is facing more than 30 charges in Atlantic Canada after allegedly taking part in a scheme to cheat senior citizens while posing as a police officer, a lawyer or a bail bondsman.
Omar Zanfi, 24, was arrested in Moncton NB on Dec. 6. It is alleged he defrauded 15 seniors in Nova Scotia since last November using the so-called “grandparent scam.”
According to the Halifax regional police, Zanfi contacted victims by phone while pretending to be speaking on behalf of a member of the victim’s family who had been arrested and needed money to post bail.
While working with an accomplice, Zanfi allegedly went to a victim’s home to pick up a large sum of money. However, without realizing it, images of him and of the vehicle he was driving were recorded by the home’s video security system.
Using the images, the police were able to track and locate Zanfi, leading to his arrest and the charges.
Charges laid in pre-Christmas kidnapping
A 33-year-old Montrealer is facing criminal charges after allegedly taking part in the kidnapping of a Laval retail business owner in the parking lot at the Centre Laval shopping mall a few days before Christmas.
Kenny Manuel Brito Rosales is charged with dangerous driving, armed assault and theft with a weapon. He is suspected of having been part of a trio of suspects who took part in the caper.
The 59-year-old target of the kidnapping, a Laval resident who did not want to be identified publicly, said he had no idea why they went after him.
After arriving at his shop in the Centre Laval to begin his workday, he was confronted by the suspects who grabged merchandise from him, after which he was forced into a grey pickup truck and driven away.
A witness to the kidnapping called the police who finally caught up with the fleeing vehicle after a 20-kilometre chase through the streets of Montreal.
The suspects decided to abort their mission once they reached the Montreal neighbourhood of Rivière-des-Prairies where they abandoned the vehicle and fled on foot. Kenny Manuel Brito Rosales was the only one of the three that the police were able to arrest.
Man, 76, dies after being struck by SUV in Laval parking lot
A 76-year-old man died last week after he was struck by a vehicle in a Laval shopping mall parking lot.
The Laval Police received a 9-1-1 call at 5:13 p.m. for a report of an SUV hitting a pedestrian at the Laval Élysée Plaza on Samson Boul. in Chomedey.
First responders performed CPR on the victim at the scene. He was transported to hospital in critical condition, but was later pronounced dead.
The driver, a 68-year-old male, was pulling into a parking space when he struck the victim, according to a spokesperson for the Laval Police. There were no grounds for criminal charges, the spokesperson added. The driver was treated for shock but was not injured.
Man shot and injured in Fabreville
A man was the target of an attempted murder on Saturday last weekend on 20th Ave. in Laval’s Fabreville sector, according to the Laval Police Dept.
The victim was shot multiple times shortly before 1 a.m. in a residential area of the district. When police arrived, they discovered that the middle-aged victim had gunshot wounds to his upper and lower body.
He was transported to hospital where he was said to be in stable condition. As of last Saturday morning, no arrests had been made.
