Durham police yesterday said an Oshawa senior is facing fraud charges after defrauding an elderly female of $60,000 over the past year.
Investigators want to ensure that there are no further victims.
On Friday, July 10, investigators from the Financial Crimes Unit executed a search warrant at a residence in Oshawa and arrested a 75-year-old male. The suspect befriended a 95-year-old female and posed as an investor. Since November of 2019, he convinced the victim to “invest” money with him, said a police media statement.
After receiving the first payment of $60,000, the suspect convinced the victim to “invest” an additional $50,000. Suspecting elder abuse, the victim’s financial institution intervened and prevented the completion of the second transfer. Police were then contacted.
The suspect is known to present himself as the owner of a company named “SafeGard Protection”; a company that does charitable work. The suspect is not operating a registered company or charity, police said.
Garry Beach, age 75, of Oshawa was arrested and is charged with: Fraud Over $5,000, Attempted Fraud Over $5,000, Possession of Proceeds of Crime and False Pretenses over $5,000. He was held for a bail hearing.
Anyone with new information about this investigation is asked to contact D/Cst. Franssen of the Financial Crimes Unit at 1-888-579-1520 ext. 5356.
Please follow up on this. He is in jail, with out a bail hearing over 1 year. I thought in Canada you were presume innocent until proven guilty.