Date: Tuesday, November 10, 2020
File: 20-43962
Victoria, BC – Financial crimes investigators are asked for your help as we work to identify a suspect in a fraud which cost a Victoria business nearly $100,000.
Investigators with our Investigation Support Unit (ISU) and Financial crimes were called to a downtown Victoria jeweller on November 4th for a report of a substantial fraud.
Through the investigation, officers learned that on October 29th a man had attended the jeweller and selected two high-end watches for purchase. The suspect left the store and returned later with a bank draft for the purchase of the watches. While the bank draft itself was legitimate, the suspect had acquired it through a sophisticated scheme in which he fraudulently transferred funds from a customer’s account using false identification. The value of the watches was just under $100,000 and a loss for the Victoria business.
The suspect is described as a darker-skinned man with a heavy-set build. He had short dark brown hair, which was thinning at the crown, and brown eyes. A dark brown beard with grey flecks was seen sticking out from below the man’s mask. At the time of the fraud he wore a black buttoned-up cardigan sweater, a white dress shirt open at the collar, a white t-shirt, black shoes, and he had silver aviator style sunglasses tucked into the sweater. The suspect also wore a hand or finger cast on his left hand. Photographs of the suspect are below.
Please click on the photo of the suspect above for a series of images of him.
The suspect was in the company of another man, who is described as taller and of a slimmer build than the suspect above. The second man was wearing dark coloured clothing. A photograph of this second suspect is below.
Investigators believe that the first suspect travelled on the BC Ferries Swartz Bay to Tswwassen sailing at 7 p.m. on October 29th.
In addition to asking for your help in identifying these men, investigators are also looking to identify locations they may have travelled to, or vehicle they may be associated with.
If you recognize these men or have information about them, please call our non-emergency line Report Desk at (250) 995-7654, ext 1. To report what you know anonymously, please call Greater Victoria Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.
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