Calgary police charge man in ‘elaborate’ student loan scam
Posted Nov 2, 2021 9:05 am.
Last Updated Nov 2, 2021 9:08 am.
Calgary police officers have charged a 32-year-old man and are looking for a second man in what detectives are calling an “elaborate” student loan scam.
The Calgary Police Service (CPS) was contacted in October 2019 after an advanced education peace officer noticed inconsistencies with several student loan applications.
A CPS investigation found two men were running a scheme between May 2017 and May 2020, where it’s believed they stole the identities of 21 people and used them to apply for Alberta student loans.
Police say the suspects stole identities or people who’d previously been victims of the data breaches and mail thefts.
“Once the suspects had the victims’ personal information, they would target a post-secondary institution and enroll as students using the stolen identities. They would then apply for student financial aid,” CPS explained in a statement.
“Most of the loan applications were conducted online, resulting in loan approvals ranging from approximately $25,000 to $38,000 for each student personation.”
Police say the men would attend classes at the school, posing as a student under a fake identity, to satisfy the requirements for obtaining the loan payouts.
Detectives suspect they were able to collect more than $240,000.
On top of the student loan scam, police believe the two men also committed credit card and cheque fraud.
The 32-year-old man has been charged with money laundering, fraud over $5,000, personation, possession of identity documents, uttering forged documents, and possession of a controlled substance.
His suspected accomplice is wanted on warrantCalgary police officers have charged a 32-year-old man and are looking for a second man in what detectives are calling an “elaborate” student loan scam.s of using a forged document and identity fraud.
