2 charged with fraud after police investigate purchase of $90K truck in Niagara Region

A Toronto woman, 61, and a 34-year-old man from Etobicoke have been charged with fraud over $5,000 following an investigation by Niagara Regional Police Service (NRPS) detectives into the purchase of a brand-new truck valued at $90,000 through fraudulent financing.

On Aug. 16, officers arrested the duo attempting to retrieve the vehicle from a local auto dealership in St. Catharines, Ont., police said in a news release Thursday.

Officers charged the two with multiple offences including fraud over $5,000, identity fraud, obtaining or possession of identity information for fraudulent offence, and theft of a motor vehicle.

Meanwhile, police said as a result of a search warrant and further investigation, officers charged the man with six additional counts of possession of identity documentsand three more counts of identity theft.

Police say both have been released from custody pending future court dates.

The investigation continues into other alleged fraudsthe two may have committed, police said.

Auto theft and violence intowing industry

The investigation was carried out by officers from the NRPS Anti-Auto Theft Unit, Central Fraud Unit and Provincial Auto Theft and Towing (PATT) Team, as part of an initiativefunded by theMinistry of the Solicitor General.

Vehicle theft has been a growing issue across Ontario and Canada,with police serviceswarning residents in recent years about a rise in thefts.

Police in Hamilton,Toronto,WindsorandYork Region, for example,investigated schemes that saw hundreds of vehicles being stolen.

In Toronto alone, more than 12,000 vehicles were stolen in 2023, a 24.4 per cent increase over the previous year.That steep jump followed a45 per cent jump in 2022from 2021, according toToronto police's major crimes indicator dashboard.

There has also been arise in violent carjackings, according to multiple police forces throughout the region, as well as an increase in break-and-enters sometimes by armed perpetrators for the purpose of stealing ignition fobs.

Toronto police also said recently that the tow truck industry "has been tainted by violence," including shootings and arson.Police Chief Myron Demkiwsaid earlier this week an increase in shootings in Toronto is partly due toto an ongoing turf war within a small segment of the tow truck industry.

The federal government announced in January that it'sproviding $121 millionfor police in Ontario to target gun and gang violence with a particular focus on the surge in auto thefts and carjackings in the GTA.