Charges in Cheque and Credit Card Fraud
The Calgary Police Service has laid over 70 charges against two people in relation to cheque and credit card fraud.
In December of 2012, an investigator from a financial institution contacted the Economic Crimes Unit, Fraud Team, providing information that linked two individuals to files with a loss of approximately $188,000.
It is alleged the individuals had been targeting multiple financial institutions, recruiting account holders primarily of Middle Eastern descent who own companies in the construction, janitorial services, automotive, import/exports, and trucking and logistics industries.
By utilizing existing personal and credit accounts, legitimate cheques are deposited via ATM or over the counter to create a credit balance on a credit account. The credit balance is then transferred to a personal or business account and the funds are withdrawn by the accused or the account holder. In all cases the accounts become significantly over drawn, resulting in the financial institution having little or no options to recover the overdrawn funds.
On several occasions, the bank accounts are from Ontario; however the account holders travel to Calgary and open additional accounts to an existing address. The fraud is perpetrated over a short period of time and the account holders return to Ontario leaving the financial institutions with significant losses.
Najah JUNDI, 41, of Calgary is charged with:
- Five counts of fraud over $5,000
- Two counts of fraud under $5,000
- Eight charges theft under $5,000
- 32 counts of false pretences
Kamal Ghandour, 50, of Calgary, is charged with:
- One count of fraud over $5,000
- Three counts of fraud under $5,000
- One count of theft over $5,000
- 17 counts of theft under $5,000
- Four counts of false pretences
Both will appear next in court on July 16, 2014.