A 47-year-old man from Richmond, B.C. faces charges as a result of an investigation by Three Hills RCMP into an investment scam.
According to police, the victim was defrauded of nearly $730,000 after researching high interest savings online and being contacted by a fraudster who claimed to be with JP Morgan and allegedly offered a Guaranteed Investment Certificate (GIC) rate. It was determined by Three Hills RCMP that JP Morgan doesn’t operate as a GIC holder in this country and the “JP Morgan GIC” is a common scam.
Wire transfers were allegedly sent to a beneficiary company – Sunlife Holdings Inc. – and the bank account associated with it was looked into by RCMP to find the name of the account holder. Police say “numerous wire transfers were sent from the account to bank accounts held by financial institutions in Canada and the United Kingdom.” The investigation into the investment scam began in February of last year.
A Canada-wide warrant was issued for the suspect and he was arrested in Richmond, B.C. on May 6 and will be brought back to Alberta for further court proceedings. The charges are fraud over $5,000 and laundering the proceeds of crime.
