The Saskatchewan RCMP received the complaint of an individual whose name was used without his permission and knowledge in a fraudulent transaction online in January 2018. The RCMP’s Federal Serious and Organized Crime (FSOC) Unit investigated further and discovered this incident of fraud was linked to several other frauds with victims across Canada.Ìý
Over the course of 18 months, the FSOC used intelligence-based policing to conduct a thorough investigation involving a series of surveillance operations, numerous interviews and the acquisition of several judicial authorizations to investigate over 50 Canadian bank accounts.Ìý
In the resulting investigation, the FSOC identified five individuals living in Regina at the time these crimes were committed – these individuals are suspected of being involved in these online scams.Ìý
Police determined the five individuals had ties to what is believed to be an international criminal organization involved in running online romance scams. This criminal organization was found to be responsible for defrauding victims of a combined total of over two million dollars through the scams over the past two years. In relation to this investigation, on January 15, the Saskatchewan RCMP arrested 28-year-old Austin Newton. He’s been charged with fraudulently personating another person, section 403(1) of the Canadian Criminal Code; fraud under $5,000, section 380(1)(b) of the Canadian Criminal Code; fraud over $5,000, section 380(1)(a) of the Canadian Criminal Code; and possession of proceeds of crime over $5,000, section 354(1) of the Canadian Criminal Code.
Austin Newton is scheduled to make his next court appearance at the Regina Provincial Court on April 21 at 2 p.m. via video.Ìý
The Saskatchewan RCMP issued a Canada-wide warrant for the arrest of the four other individuals involved in these romance scams. These individuals are facing different charges of fraud and possession of the proceeds of crime. These individuals are 24-year-old Kelvin Awani, 22-year-old Jonah Eigbuluese, 25-year-old Joshua Ometie and 27-year-old Clinton Newton.
The four men could be anywhere in Canada. Anyone with information regarding the whereabouts of these four persons are asked to call 306-310-RCMP (7267) or their local police service. Information can also be submitted anonymously through Crime Stoppers by calling 1-800-222-TIPS (8477) or submitting a tip online at .Ìý
The Saskatchewan RCMP were struck by the apparent authenticity of these online romances and by the time devoted by the suspects to the people they were victimizing. In order to inform the public about these online romance scams, the Saskatchewan RCMP had produced a video highlighting the red flags of a fraudulent online romance – this video can be found on Facebook at: .
