A veteran fraudster has been jailed for six months after being caught at home, thanks to the vigilance of a Nanjane who sniffed out the scam halfway through, allowing police to track him down.
Last October, an elderly couple from Lachine thought they were receiving a call from “Caises Desjardins,” as indicated in their scene. However, this is a scam.
A person who identified himself as an employee of a financial institution reported that a fraudulent transaction had taken place in his bank account. The scammer told the 91-year-old man he wanted to withdraw money from his bank account.
To do this, a car would wait for him in front of his house and take him to his Desjardins branch in Lachine.
Sufian Romthane, 31, was driving a Subaru Forester.
During the trip, the unknown fraudster continued his conversation with the victim over Romthen's phone, explaining that he “needs to withdraw $3,800, but he shouldn't tell the bank employee the reason for the withdrawal because the scam has come through.” from an employee of its branch,” we state in an admitted statement of facts recently filed in a Montreal court.
So the elder, convinced that it was a fraud, froze in fear of retribution. However, he carefully noted down the license plate in his notebook while exiting the vehicle.
Caisse Desjardins de Lachine, where Sufian Romthen drove a victim who owed $3,800 back.
“Photography by Pierre-Paul Poulin”
Upon entering the financial institution, the elder remarked to an attendant that he was “a fraud victim.” However, she did not feel the urgency of the situation and asked to wait for a manager, who never came.
Meanwhile, the victim saw the accused watching her through the window. After watching Romethen leave the parking lot, the nanogenarian finally exited through a side door.
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Thanks to a tip from a 91-year-old man, the Montreal Police Department was able to place Romthan's vehicle under surveillance.
The following week, police found him with an accomplice, Cristian Guzmán Cavagnaro, when he parked his car in front of a building in the Anjou district. Then an old man got into the vehicle.
The scheme used was the same, but this time the victim was asked to return $5,000.
The elder was taken by the two accused to his Desjardins Credit Union located on rue Jean-Dalon. He tried to withdraw the money despite the clerk's recommendation to use a bank draft to avoid fraud.
However, in the meantime a police officer arrives and tells him that he has been the victim of fraud, while colleagues arrest Romdane and Guzmán Cavagnaro.
Romethane, who has no criminal record, received a six-month sentence to be served at home.
Cristian Guzmán Cavagnaro is due to be sentenced to six months in prison next March.
Photo courtesy of SPVM
Guzmán Cavagnaro will be sentenced next month. However, he was sentenced to six months in prison due to his history of possession of firearms.
