Quebec man charged after Calgary senior scammed out of more than $300K in crypto fraud
In June 2022, the senior was contacted by someone posing as her grandson. He said he had been in a vehicle collision and faced drug-related charges. He asked the victim to contact his lawyer, who was also part of the scam, and asked her to make daily payments to help him make bail and pay a lawyer.
Over six weeks, the victim was directed by the fake lawyer to deposit large amounts of money from her bank account into Bitcoin ATMs.
She made more than 300 deposits of in excess of $300,000.
The victim became suspicious over time and reported it to police.
Calgary police, working with its cybercrime and blockchain investigations team, launched an investigation and were able to identify a suspect who they believed was responsible.
In March 2023, Calgary police investigators, with help from the Longueuil police, executed search warrants at a home in Brossard, Que., and a Montreal business in relation to the incident.
As a result, earlier in July, Jeremy Rattray, a 34-year-old resident of Brossard, Que., was charged with one count of fraud over $5,000, one count of laundering the proceeds of crime and two counts of identity theft.
He's scheduled to appear in court on Aug. 12.
Police ask Calgarians to be on high alert for fraudsters and scammers.
'We continue to remind the public to be aware of cryptocurrency scams,' said Staff Sgt. Gary Novokowsky.
'Fraudsters are increasingly impersonating family members, lawyers or members of law enforcement agencies to manipulate victims, particularly seniors, into believing a loved one is in trouble,'
'If you receive a call asking you to withdraw funds or send money to unknown individuals, hang up and do not engage with the person.'
Anyone who has suffered a financial loss or had personal information compromised because of fraud can report it to police at 403-266-1234. Those wishing to remain anonymous can contact Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477, online or by downloading the P3 Tips app.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
CTV News
15 minutes ago
- CTV News
Workplace explosion leaves 1 in life-threatening condition: police
A man was injured Thursday when a pressurized tank exploded in southeast Calgary. An investigation is underway into what caused pressurized tank to explode Thursday at a southeast Calgary workplace. Police issued a statement at 3:10 about the incident, which it said took place on the 7300 block of 107 Ave. S.E. They said a man in his 30s has been transported to hospital with life-altering injuries. This is a developing story that will be updated as more information becomes available.
CTV News
15 minutes ago
- CTV News
Parks Canada stops hiking permits to Yoho peak after fossil thefts
Parks Canada will not be giving out the permits which previously allowed hikers to summit Mount Stephen, after repeated thefts from the Burgess Shale UNESCO World Heritage site. More fossils thefts from a UNESCO World Heritage site west of Calgary have prompted Parks Canada to end hiking permits to a revered peak in British Colombia's Yoho National Park. 'That's a new change we've implemented this year. We just felt it was important to protect this irreplaceable resource,' said Paul Friesen, who's the park warden for Lake Louise, Yoho and Kootenay Field. Parks Canada will not be giving out the permits which previously allowed hikers to summit Mount Stephen, after repeated thefts from the area including two hikers who stole fossils last year from the Burgess Shale UNESCO World Heritage site — renown for its vast deposits of ancient, well-preserved soft organisms. On August 6, 2024, two American men hiking Mount Stephen without scrambling permits went into the protected area monitored by surveillance cameras and took fossils. 'We were alerted to their presence and were able to apprehend them and when we did, we found they had removed six Burgess Shale fossils,' said Friesen. He said the men were charged in August and this year they were convicted and each fined $4,750. They got the fossils back, too. 'We have a way of repatriating those fossils and putting them back on the landscape where they were removed from,' he added. Burgess Shale fossils, July 17, 2025 Parks Canada and the GeoScience Burgess Shale Foundation are still offering guided hikes of the protected trilobite bed (CTV Calgary) Disappointing Parks Canada and the GeoScience Burgess Shale Foundation are still offering guided hikes of the protected trilobite bed but the inability to summit the mountain is disappointing to some people in the scrambling community. Mount Stephen is listed in Scrambles in the Canadian Rockies by Alan Kane, a guidebook so well-known some local hikers nickname it 'the Bible'. Doug Robson of Calgary dreams of reaching 180 popular peaks, and Stephen is one of them. 'I was going to do it last year and got a permit to do it but wasn't feeling well that day,' he said. 'It's a goal that I would get it done,' Robson said, adding that 'there's other people that would like to do it too.' Unfortunate He said it's unfortunate that people who already weren't following the rules by getting permits played a part in ruining it for others. But that case is only the most recent one of fossils being illegally removed from the area. 'People were consistently getting permits to scramble Mt. Stephen and some of them were entering the closed area and some of them were illegally removing fossils,' Friesen said. Stolen fossils In 2022, Parks Canada recovered 45 fossils illegally removed from the Burgess Shale in Kootenay National Park in 2020. The Montreal man responsible faced a $20,000 fine. (CTV Calgary) In 2022, Parks Canada recovered 45 fossils illegally removed from the Burgess Shale in Kootenay National Park in 2020. The Montreal man responsible faced a $20,000 fine. 'There are people who would collect these fossils in order to sell them. There would be a value on the black market for these fossils, just like anything that's rare,' said Friesen. In other cases, he said people are just so impressed with the site they feel compelled to take a souvenir. Immense damage Researchers say the damage of can be immense. Some of the 500 million year-old fossils from the area have uncovered previously-unknown species. 'We're looking at these incredibly old fossils that aren't preserved in very many places and also the quality of preservation in the Burgess Shale really is unparalleled,' said University of Calgary science professor Ann Quinney. 'They are much, much older than the first dinosaurs. If we want to understand where we come from, we need to protect this resource,' she added. Burgess Shale, July 17, 2025 Doug Robson of Calgary dreams of reaching 180 popular peaks, and Mt. Stephen is one of them. (CTV Calgary) Surveillance Surveillance cameras monitor 12 Burgess Shale sites in the Yoho and Kootneay National Parks. Robson said along with the cameras, Parks Canada also has personal information registered by anyone who applied for scramble permits. 'I don't think it's people like myself who are playing in the mountains who do this (remove fossils),' he said. 'They're about protecting the environment not taking from the environment.' 'I'd like to have a conversation about it, rather than just shut it down.' He wishes there could be discussion about how to preserve the environment and still allow some scramblers to summit. Parks Canada said it tried to strike a balance with its decision. 'We're doing this for all the right reasons. We're not stopping people from hiking in other areas so I would hope people understand why we're making this decision.' said Friesen.
CBC
16 minutes ago
- CBC
71-year-old killed in 'unprovoked' stabbing in Toronto, police say
A 71-year-old woman was fatally stabbed while unloading groceries into her car in North York on Thursday in what police say was an 'unprovoked' attack.
