Charges laid in massive fraud scheme
Posted May 28, 2015 6:41 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
Calgary police have announced charges against three people in a multi-million dollar fraud investigation that targetted an elderly victim.
Police allege one of the suspects used fraudulent charities as a front to convince the victim to invest large quantities of cash, which were then funnelled to international accounts.
The money was promised to be guaranteed through various international means and have a high rate of return on investment, but the victim ended up losing more than $8 million.
66-year-old Joseph Edison and 37-year-old Stefanie Haase-Fernando, both from Calgary, are charged with fraud and forgery.
Staff Sgt. Kristie Verheul said they believe there are more suspects in this case.
“These four individuals cannot be acting on their own they’re very connected across the globe at this time, I can’t say whether it is organized crime or not but definitely larger scale than just four individuals,” Verheul said.
An arrest warrant has been issued for 39-year-old Anshul Fernando Edison on the same charges.
Calgary police are thanking a number of organizations for help laying these charges, including Canada Border Services, and the U.S. Secret Service.
