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York police arrest 14 suspects in passport fraud ring linked to staged auto collisions


November 18, 2011   by Canadian Underwriter


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York Region police have arrested 14 suspects and laid 145 charges following a three-year investigation into a multi-million dollar fraud ring that allegedly staged auto collisions in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA).
Insurance Bureau of Canada (IBC)’s vice president of investigative services, Rick Dubin, congratulated York Regional Police for slicing off “another major tentacle of fraud.”
“Organized insurance fraud is big business in Ontario and, specifically, the GTA,” said Dubin. “And their crimes drive up the cost of insurance for everyone.”
Investigators with the major fraud unit of York Regional Police, working in partnership with the Canada Border Services Agency and the Ontario Ministry of Transportation, began their investigation in July 2011.
Police say members of the ring obtained legitimate government identification using forged foreign passports. An investigation was launched to identify and arrest suspects responsible for creating, distributing and selling the passports.
“The three-month investigation identified numerous suspects who had used the passports to defraud banks by opening accounts under false names, staging motor vehicle collisions to defraud the insurance industry and leasing vehicles under aliases in order to defraud leasing companies,” police say.
Police executed a total of five search warrants during the course of the initiative. While executing a warrant in Aurora, Ontario, investigators uncovered a fully functional document forgery laboratory.
At the conclusion of the investigation, officers had seized items including more than $50,000 in cash, a motor vehicle, a boat, two conducted energy weapons, a handgun, foreign passports, Ontario driver’s licences, 12 valid foreign passports, official government stamps and chemicals used to forge documents.
Two suspects were deported after being convicted in court. Police have identified another 20 suspects, who are currently being sought for arrest.
Anyone with information is asked to call the York Regional Police Major Fraud Unit at 1-866-876-5423, ext. 6619, Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS, leave an anonymous tip online at www.1800222tips.com or text your tip to CRIMES (274637) starting with the word YORK.


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