4 men arrested in scam asking elderly people to bail their grandchildren out of jail

Laval police (SPL) has arrested four men in connection to a scam that involved asking elderly people to send money to bail their grandchildren out of jail.

The arrests are part of Project Gélules, which began last September following several complaints.

Police say as part of the investigation, they searched a home that appeared to be used as a call centre to contact potential victims and confiscated 18 cellphones, CAD$13,045 and four vehicles.

The four men, aged between 23 and 25, are facing charges of fraud over $5,000, conspiracy and impersonation.

They were released with several conditions.

Police say the scam involved one of the suspects contacting a victim and pretending to be their grandson.

They would say they were in trouble with the authorities and needed money to be released from jail.

During the phone conversation, a second suspect would impersonate a police officer or lawyer.

He would tell the victim what to do to withdraw the money, including hiding it in an envelope and giving it to a third person who would come to their home to retrieve it.

Police note that since the victims withdrew the money voluntarily, they will be held responsible by their financial institutions and will not be reimbursed.

The investigation assembled 187 files throughout Quebec for fraud totalling more than $900,000.

Anyone with information about any alleged frauds related to this case can call the info-line at 450 662-INFO (4636) or dial 911 and mention the file LVL 210615 049.