Examples of Loan Broker Scams and Arrests of Advance Fee Telemarketing Fraud Rings
Betting on Not Getting Caught in the Advance Fee Trifecta
07/07 - The RCMP have arrested four more Montrealers in connection with an international telemarketing scam that bilked 100,000 victims out of $30 million.
The four men were arrested last Monday and are alleged to be part of a ring that operated mainly out of an office building on Decarie Blvd. In February 2005, officers with the RCMP and the Surete du Quebec shut down the operation and rounded up 28 people at that location.
Wiretaps and documents seized then led investigators to make these latest arrests, according to RCMP Cpl. Sylvain L'Heureux.
Ronald Howell, 38, Roderick Carreon, 33, Rodney Patricio, 23, and Chuck Patricio, 25, face charges of conspiracy to commit fraud over $5,000 and committing fraud over $5,000.
They are suspected of using several schemes to deceive victims in the United States and Canada, according to the RCMP.
In one scenario, the victims were told they could receive a student loan and grant from the U.S. government if they paid fees. The victims would send a cheque, but never receive any loan or grant.
Other victims, in the U.S., were asked to pay fees for a program that could save them money when purchasing pharmaceuticals in Canada. The victims paid the fees, but received nothing in return.
Finally, some victims were offered a credit card with a $5,000 limit if they paid a fee. The victims paid, but never received a credit card.
One of the ringleaders, Stephen Clark, was sentenced in New York City last month for his role in the scam. The Dollard des Ormeaux man, 48, received a term of just over 11 years in a U.S. prison. Thomas Payne, 36, a New York resident and a former vice-president of HSBC, a bank in New York, was sentenced at the same time as Clark. He received a term of nearly 6 years.
The four suspects arrested last week have been released under several conditions until their next court date.
Montreal Gazette
