Montreal police arrest 4, potentially solving hundreds of frauds

Four suspects allegedly linked to hundreds of frauds committed against seniors living in southwest Montreal were arrested Thursday by Montreal police (SPVM) officers out of the Economic Crimes Section.

In addition, investigators conducted a search in a condominium unit on René-Lévesque Blvd. West in downtown Montreal.

The SPVM reports that three of the apprehended suspects have already appeared at the Montreal courthouse to face various charges of fraud and failure to comply with the conditions of an undertaking.

They are twin brothers Carl-René and Carl-Henri Moody, aged 20, and Jonathan Gresseau, aged 30. All three individuals will remain in custody pending trial.

A fourth suspect, who is 21 years old, was released on a promise to appear.

Police say that these alleged criminals have been committing "false representation" frauds in the boroughs of LaSalle, Verdun and the Southwest. Other victims were found earlier this year in Anjou, Montreal North and Saint-Léonard and led to other arrests by the SPVM.

The alleged scheme is to pretend to be employees of financial institutions and call a vulnerable senior. They make them believe that there has been a fraudulent transaction on their bank card.

The phony representative emphatically tells the victim that there is an urgent need to take action to correct the situation and asks the victim to provide their personal identification number (PIN).

The fraudster then tells the victim to insert their bank card into an envelope and that a mail carrier will pick up the envelope and return it to the financial institution.

A uniformed accomplice then takes over and quickly arrives at the victim's residence to retrieve the envelope and flee in order to steal money.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French on Aug. 19, 2022.