By Dan Laxer
The Suburban
Canadian fraudsters targeted seniors in the United States, cheating them out of more than $31 million US. Last Tuesday, in a massive operation, police arrested 23 people, 10 of them from the West Island, all subject to a U.S. extradition request.
The investigation involved more than 100 law enforcement officers from the RCMP, the Sûreté du Québec, and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). The arrests were made last Tuesday around 6 a.m. in Montreal, Laval, St. Eustache, Pointe Claire, DDO, Deux Montagnes, Île Perrot, Vaudreuil-Dorion, and Les Coteaux, and in Burlington, Ontario.
The alleged crimes occurred between summer 2021 and June of last year.
According to ICE, the suspects operated a typical grandparent scam, making calls to seniors posing as a relative, usually a grandchild, who had been arrested following a car crash, needing bail money. Another suspect posed as an attorney who would send an accomplice posing as a bail bondsman to collect the money.
They are alleged to have worked out of three call centres on the West Island – two apartment buildings in Pointe Claire, both on Avenue de la Baie de Valois, and one in a house on Harwood in Vaudreuil.
The stolen funds were transferred to Chicago or New York, and then back to Canada through cash deliveries, financial transactions, or cryptocurrency.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security launched the investigation in 2022 with the collaboration of the SQ. Last June the SQ went into the alleged call centres, catching 20 of the suspects in the act, fleecing victims in Virginia, and stopping another suspect in his car. That suspect apparently had a list of people from the U.S.
The successful joint operation comes a day after U.S. President Trump enacted his 25 percent export tariffs, and as he continues to raise concerns about Canadian border security, particularly with the trafficking of fentanyl. But all those involved in the investigation praised the joint effort of U.S., Canadian, and Quebec law enforcement.
“Today’s arrests are the result of domestic collaboration as well as our critical international partnerships with our colleagues in Canada, Sûreté du Québec and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police,” said ICE Special Agent Michael J. Krol. “Tackling transnational crime is one of our greatest priorities and we’re working hand-in-hand with our neighbours to dismantle organized criminal groups that threaten our safety and security.”
An ICE attaché for Ottawa, Madalena Sigur, called the operation “an excellent example of ICE Canada’s partnership with the Sûreté du Québec,” saying they will “continue to partner with the SQ, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and other law enforcement agencies to identify and dismantle criminal organizations operating throughout North America and abroad that exploit our shared border and vulnerable population for illicit gain.”
SQ Chief Inspector Michel Patenaude added that the arrests “highlight the efficiency of our joint efforts, demonstrating that our cooperation delivers concrete results in enhancing public safety on both sides of the border.”
The suspects include Usman Khalid, 36, of Les Coteaux; Andrew Tatto, 43, of Pierrefonds; Stephan Moskwyn, 42, of Pierrefonds; Ricky Ylimaki, 31, of Île-Perrot, and Adam Lawrence, 41, of LaSalle, two of whom are still at large.
There were nine other suspects arrested in the U.S., including one Montrealer: 24-year-old Philippe Alvarez.
The charges include fraud and conspiracy to commit fraud, and money laundering, charges which could carry a sentence of 20 to 40 years. They are expected to be tried in the state of Vermont. n