Police Chief Rick Bourassa is praising members of the police service for assisting their counterparts in Ontario in locating a man who targeted seniors across Canada with a lottery scam.
Peel Regional Police (PRP) said in a recent news release that a 60-year-old Brampton, Ont., man allegedly contacted people, telling them they won millions in a lottery. He then told the individuals they must pay the taxes for their winnings so the funds could be released.
Victims were advised to send their payments to the suspect in Brampton.
The frauds occurred over two years, starting in November 2020.
In mid-September, investigators from Peel police’s fraud bureau arrested Clive Lothian following a “thorough investigation” that culminated with a search warrant. Police charged the man with four counts of fraud over $5,000, two counts of possession of proceeds of crime, and one count of defrauding the public.
Lothian was released from custody and will appear at the Ontario Court of Justice in Brampton on Oct. 16.
Law enforcement partners from Moose Jaw, Bridgewater, N.S., Thunder Bay, Ont., and Timmins, Ont. assisted PRP with the investigation.
During a media scrum after the Sept. 28 Moose Jaw Board of Police Commissioners’ meeting, Chief Bourassa said his agency supports these types of investigations regularly, considering it is in constant contact with other law enforcement groups across Canada.
“And because it’s such a mobile society, people that are wanted for something in Ontario and British Columbia (and) New Brunswick will pass through here, and people that we want here might pass through Woodstock (Ont.) or Winnipeg or someplace,” he said.
“… it’s not unusual for us to be working with other police services on apprehending people that are wanted in their jurisdiction.”
While Moose Jaw police participate in these investigations often, the agency doesn’t always speak publicly about them because it’s just their regular business, Bourassa continued, adding the agency sometimes forgets that its activities are sometimes interesting to people outside of the industry.
The next police board meeting is Thursday, Oct. 19.
