A Montreal mask maker may have helped the FBI track down a U.S. bank robbery suspect after recognizing the wanted man’s face as one of his own creations.

Ian Marier of Realflesh Masks says his masks are among the most realistic on the market and are sold to movie makers across the continent. The silicone masks look so real, he says, they can help a young actor turn into an old man, or a white man into a black man.

It appears that Dion Jordan of Philadelphia may have had the same idea. Police allege he placed an online order for a $1,700 custom made mask from Marier in the spring.

The company made the mask and shipped it. Then in July, a client called Marier after spotting an FBI appeal for information about a suspect in several bank robberies that included surveillance photos.

"He said it looked like one of our masks," Marier recalled to CTV Montreal on Wednesday.

Marier viewed the ad himself and agreed it appeared that the bank robber was wearing one of the masks he had created. He called the FBI and explained to investigators his suspicions.

Marier says his company always takes pictures of masks they create before they are shipped out. They also keep all sales records on their computers. He was able to send the FBI the exact name and address of the man who had ordered the mask seen in the photos.

Until Marier called, the FBI thought they were looking for a white, heavy-set man in his 50's or 60's. The suspect they arrested is a 35-year-old African American.

Investigators believe he was wearing the mask during at least three bank robberies. What's more, they're also investigating Jordan for murder and kidnapping.

Marier says he can see why his masks might appeal to potential thieves.

"It's easy for a bank robber to put it on their face, do the bank robbing, take it off, go away. Come in as a white man, go out as a black man," he says.

After selling thousands of masks, Marier says this appears to be the first time one of his creations may have been used for the wrong reasons.

"I'm just glad we were able to help put someone away that was using our product to hurt people instead of for its purpose, which is to have fun and have a good time."

With a report from CTV Montreal's Aphrodite Salas