Two men charged in alleged projector sale scam at U of C: police

Calgary Police Service headquarters is seen in this undated image. (CTV News)

Two men are facing charges after allegedly scamming a person at the University of Calgary under the guise of a deal on overstock projectors.

Calgary police said the victim was approached by two men at the University of Calgary campus around noon on March 25.

The men claimed they worked at the university installing projectors and had excess inventory and offered to sell the victim a projector at a discounted price.

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According to police, when the victim agreed to purchase a projector, the suspects gave them a ride to the bank to withdraw cash.

When they got back to the university campus and the victim gave them the money, the suspects got in their vehicle and drove away without giving them the projector.

The victim reported the incident to campus security. The suspects were found a short time later near a student residence building, speaking with another group of students about selling discounted projectors.

Police launched their investigation and determined the suspects were posing as employees of the university in an attempt to perpetrate the alleged scam.

Investigators believe the suspects have visited several post-secondary campuses across Canada.

Police found the two suspects on March 27, around 10:30 a.m., in a parking lot in the northwest community of Collingwood.

The pair was arrested, with police seizing several projectors, screens and $9,000 cash.

Two men, Yousef Hilal, 24, of Mississauga, Ont., and Arpit Rasela, 28, of Georgetown, Ont., were each charged with fraud under $5,000 and with proceeds of crime over $5,000.

They are scheduled to appear in court on April 23.

Police are asking anyone with information about this incident, or those similar, to call 403-266-1234. Tips can also be submitted anonymously to Crime Stoppers.