RCMP charge 3 Windsorites in cottage rentals fraud
Three people from Windsor, eight in total, are charged with fraud by the RCMP in relation to cottage rentals.
RCMP's London Financial Crime Unit said the charges comes from a 12-month investigation that defrauded 75 people across Canada, collecting more than $68,000.
The investigation started in October 2015 as a result of an investigation on other fraudulent cottage rentals one year earlier. RCMP say members of this group of eight posted advertisements for property rentals in popular vacation spots on online classified websites. Victims talked to the group through emails and text messages to agree on the period of time they would be renting a cottage. The RCMP say victims sent payments to one member through an email money transfer.
RCMP say the accused did not own or have any right to offer the properties as rentals.
Often the victims would discover the fraud when they arrived with friends and family, expecting the cottage was available. That caused significant problems and large additional costs for the victims to find alternate accommodations at the last minute.
Three individuals under 30-years old from Windsor, one person from Brampton, Ont., one person from Fort Erie, Ont., one person from Calgary and one person from White Rock, B.C. are charged with fraud over $5000 and possession of proceeds of crime. One man from St. Catharines, Ont. is charged with fraud under $5,000 and possession of proceeds of crime.
All are scheduled to appear in early December 2016 at the London Courthouse.