Fraudsters steal $85,000 from terminally-ill woman; son speaks out

Iann et Romane Saint-Denis

Romane Saint-Denis was living with Stage 4 lung cancer when she received a call last May from someone claiming to be a police officer.

“He said he was investigating someone at her bank,” Romane’s son, Iann Saint-Denis, told Noovo Info.

He says she was asked if she had a safe deposit box at the bank, and if so, to withdraw its contents.

Saint-Denis says his mother put her debit card, credit card and bank codes in an envelope, which was then picked up by the fraudsters.

“The next five days were a disaster, needless to say,” he said. “Having given them her PINs, it’s clear that illegal transactions took place. We’re talking about $15,000 to $20,000 a day.”

Saint-Denis says the fraudsters emptied all of his mother’s accounts and maxed out her credit.

She ended up losing $85,000 — her entire life’s savings.

Saint-Denis says he tried many times to recover the money, and succeeded only partially.

“We decided to stop fighting at some point. My mother was at the end of her life,” said Saint-Denis, noting that his mother died this January. “It’s clear that these events accelerated her decline.”

Bank responsibility

Saint-Denis says that while he understands people should not give out their personal information, he believes banks should take on more responsibility, with “a conscience.”

“$15,000, $20,000 a day,” he said. “For someone who has never made a transaction of more than $2,000, $3,000 a month ... that should raise a red flag.”

According to Alexandre Plourde, a lawyer and analyst with Option consommateurs, it is “very easy for financial institutions to shirk their responsibilities” when it comes to fraud.

He cites clauses in banking contracts that mention security obligations, including protecting PINs.

“What we’re seeing is that the law is really insufficient to adequately protect consumers,” said Plourde.

The fraudsters who allegedly victimized Romane Saint-Denis were eventually arrested.

In remembering his mother’s memory, Saint-Denis says he wants to tell others to have open conversations with their loved ones so they can avoid falling into traps.