Sudbury senior defrauded $12K, two suspects charged

With a recent rise in grandparent scams in northern Ontario police are encouraging residents to have conversations with their loved ones about the risks.

Two people have been charged with fraud in a grandparent scam in Greater Sudbury -- and police believe there may be more victims.

The investigation began March 13 when police were dispatched to a residence in Coniston.

“Information provided was that on March 10, a community member received a phone call from an individual claiming to be her grandson, stating that he had been in a collision and required a large amount of money to make bail,” police said in a news release Monday.

“The community member agreed to an amount and an individual attended her residence to pick up the cash. On March 13 … the community member received a second call from an individual claiming to be her grandson’s lawyer, stating that an additional lump sum of money was required for fees.”

The woman handed over more money when the individual arrived at her residence. Her loss now totalled about $12,000, police said.

Attended residence in person

“Based on the investigation, officers identified the individual believed to be responsible for attending the residence on both occasions,” police said.

The investigation led to an arrest March 15 of a 26-year-old suspect who is charged with two counts of fraud over $5,000 and two counts of impersonation with intent.

The suspect was in weekend bail court.

“Through the investigation, officers identified the individual believed to be responsible for collecting the money after it was picked up from the residence,” police said.

A 42-year-old was arrested March 16 and charged with impersonation with intent, fraud over $5,000, possession of property obtained by crime over $5,000 and trafficking in property obtained by crime.

He was scheduled to appear in bail court Monday, police said.

“As a result of the investigation, it is believed that there may be additional victims of fraud stemming from the actions of these individuals,” police said.

Anyone with information on this case or who has been a victim of a similar fraud is asked to contact police at 705-675-9171.

“We just really want to remind community members to have conversations with (their) loved ones regarding these types of scams because they may not have social media, so they may not be aware of it,” said Sudbury police spokesperson Kaitlyn Dunn.

“If you do receive a phone call, never feel pressured to either send gift cards, bitcoin or payout amounts of money because law enforcement will never ask you to do that.”

With files from CTVNorthernOntario.ca journalist Amanda Hicks