Four men between the ages of 23 and 25 were arrested on Wednesday last week to face charges of conspiracy and identity theft involving the so-called “grandparent fraud.” The Laval Police Dept. said the alleged fraud ring had nearly 190 victims.
A search warrant executed at a Laval residence police allege was a call centre used by the suspects yielded 18 cellphones and more than $13,000 in cash.
A police investigation uncovered 187 fraud cases across Quebec totalling more than $900,000. In grandparent scams, fraudsters call victims and claim to be a grandchild or other young relative. They say they are in trouble with the law and need money to be released from jail.
A member of the fraud ring, impersonating a police officer or other intermediary, then instructs the victim on how to withdraw cash from their bank, place it in an envelope and give it to a person who goes to the victim’s home.
Anyone with any information on this type of fraud is urged to call Laval police at 450-662-4636 or call 911 and mention file LVL 210615 049.
Laval Police seek ‘misrepresentation’ fraud suspect
The Laval Police Dept. is seeking the public’s help to locate a suspect wanted on several warrants involving misrepresentation and fraud.
According to the LPD, during 2021 several suspects, including Yani Noel, age 21, were allegedly involved in a type of fraud known as “false representation” in several regions across Quebec.
The suspects contacted victims, pretending to be employees of financial institutions, while claiming to have found fraudulent transactions made with the victims’ bank debit cards which needed to be rectified.
As part of the scam, the victims were asked to provide the suspects with confidential personal information, such as PIN numbers. As well, an accomplice would go to the residence of the victims to pick up the victims’ debit cards, which the fraudsters claimed were no longer valid.
The LPD alleges that the suspects would then use the stolen debit cards, with the information they obtained, to steal money from victim’s bank accounts. The LPD alleges that Yanni Noel acted as an intermediary, going to victims’ homes to pick up the debit cards.
Description of Yani Noel:
- Mixed race, speaks French.
- Black hair, brown eyes.
- 1 m 78 (5’10’’) tall, weights 79 kg (175 lb).
Has tattoos on the fingers of his right hand. Anyone who believes they have information about Yani Noel’s whereabouts can call the LPD’s confidential Info Line at 450 662-INFO (4636), or 911. The file number is LVL-220424-020.
Crimes against individuals up, LPD says in annual report
The Laval Police Dept. recorded a larger than usual number of crimes against individuals involving firearms last year, the LPD says in an annual report released on June 8.
Last year, the LPD reported that this category of crime rose 25 per cent over the previous year, during a time when the Covid pandemic was underway.
According to the force, the majority of firearms incidents took place in public places, and most of these in turn occurred in Chomedey.
From 2020 to 2021, crimes of sexual nature, criminal harassment and making threats also rose, says the LPD, including cases of domestic violence.
Man in his 60s dies after car crash in Laval
A man in his 60s has died after his vehicle went off the road early last Saturday morning in Laval.
A 911 call shortly after 4:30 a.m. notified emergency services of the crash that had just happened on Autoroute 440 eastbound near the St-François overpass.
According to early reports, the driver lost control of his vehicle after feeling discomfort. The driver ended his trajectory by hitting the median wall.
The man was alone in his vehicle. He was transported to hospital in critical condition and later succumbed to his injuries. A Sûreté du Québec investigation is continuing.
Laval driver in B.C. crash receives two-year sentence
After a nearly two-year-long investigation, a driver from Laval who was involved in a rollover crash that seriously injured a female passenger in June 2020 has pleaded guilty to Criminal Negligence Causing Bodily Harm and has received a two-year sentence.
On June 5, 2020 at 1:00 a.m., the Burnaby B.C. RCMP responded to a report that a Dodge Durango had rolled over at Gilmore Avenue and Halifax Street. The driver left the scene, leaving his female passenger with severe injuries.
Burnaby RCMP’s Criminal Collision Investigation Team took conduct of the investigation. Several charges were approved in May 2021, but the suspect had left the province and a Canada-wide warrant was issued for his arrest.
In January 2022, with the assistance of Laval Police Dept. (Service du police de Laval), 33-year-old Moussa Daoui was arrested in Laval and returned to B.C.
On Monday, May 30, 2022, Daoui pleaded guilty to Criminal Negligence Causing Bodily Harm and received a two-year prison sentence.
