St. Thomas Police have arrested and charged a 36 year old Talbot Street business owner with three counts of fraud.
They say that the business owner defrauded three victims including a contract employee, another business owner and a private investor. The first victim, the contract employee was allegedly defrauded over $3000 after the business owner tried to pay them with a cheque written on a closed account.
Police say the second victim, the other business owner, is out over $2000 when they were scammed into a charity act, agreeing to purchase a transport truck of discounted food for the local food bank just before Christmas. They say that the accused cashed the cheque and kept the money, knowing the food was never going to be delivered.
The third victim, the private investor, is out $7500 after being offered a bogus investment opportunity. Allegedly, the accused claimed to be buying a transport truck full of coats and boots at a discounted rate to be resold at a profit. Police say that while the private investor forwarded the money, the transport truck never showed up because it never existed.
They’ve charged the business owner with two counts of Fraud Under $5000 and one count of Fraud Over $5000.
