A 22-year-old man has been charged with nearly 100 crimes after defrauding several people in Toronto with fake checks.
According to Toronto police, the incidents took place over about 10 months, between April 2021 and February 2022.
During this time, a man contacted the victims on Kijiji, Facebook Marketplace and Snapchat and agreed to buy various items, such as shoes and designer clothes.
Police say the man would meet with the victims and pay for the items with fraudulent checks that were deposited through mobile banking.
“The checks would be more than the items purchased, which will cause the victims to transfer the difference to the man,” police said in a press release issued in February.
The checks were subsequently suspended and determined to be counterfeit; however, police say that by the time this process was completed, the man would have already fled with both the merchandise and the money.
Police say they arrested a suspect on June 27 in connection with the investigation.
Toronto-based Tyrese Campbell-Fraser was charged with 97 felonies, including five counts of fraud over $ 5,000, 29 counts of fraud under $ 5,000, 30 counts of causing another person to act on a forged document, four burglary charges of less than $ 5,000, two charges of making threats and 27 counts of non-compliance with parole.
The charges have not been verified in the courts.
Police have also released the image of Campbell-Fraser, as investigators believe there may be more casualties.
He has been described as standing about six feet tall, weighing about 180 pounds, with braided and faded hair on his sides, and a black beard.
Police say he has “Heaven Fraser” tattoos on his right forearm and “514” on his left forearm.
Anyone with information is asked to contact the police or contact Crime Stoppers anonymously.