Police authorities report that they have uncovered a lottery scam run by a Brampton man. Through the scheme, the culprit targeted older adults in several parts of Canada. According to the Peel Regional Police, he started the frauds occurred over the course of several years and started in November 2020. He will now face criminal charges in court.
It is not uncommon for people to try and scam others via a lottery or gambling-related scam, and Canadian authorities have intervened in many cases over the years. In this scheme, the perpetrator contacted victims and informed them that had won big in the lottery. He then asked them to pay the taxes on the windfall, so their winnings can be released.
Joint Investigation Locates the Scammer
In a recent statement, Peel Regional Police shared a Brampton man was arrested in connection to a years-long lottery scam across the country. Law enforcement teams from various parts of the country also helped in the investigation, this includes the departments of Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan, Bridgewater, Nova Scotia, Thunder Bay, Ontario, and Timmins.
As already mentioned, the suspect reportedly got in contact with the victims and lied to them that they had won millions in lottery play. He then requested them to pay the taxes, in order for the winnings to be awarded. According to the police, the victims were instructed to send their payments to the culprit who was located in Brampton, Ontario.
After a thorough investigation, police squads were led to a search warrant being conducted by fraud officers with Peel police. It was discovered that the name of the suspect is Clive Lothian, who is a 60-year-old. Since then, he has been charged with four counts of fraud over CA$5,000, as well as two counts of possession of proceeds of crime, and one count of defrauding the public.
Mr. Lothian has been released from custody and is now set to appear in court on October 16, 2023. Investigators remarked that there may be additional victims and released a photo of the suspect. The police ask anyone with information regarding the suspect to contact the Peel police or Crime Stoppers anonymously to help with the investigation.
More Gambling-Related Frauds Detected
Just recently, a Quebec court gave a ruling on another gambling-related scam. This time the culprit was the 45-year-old Yuan Wang who was involved in a series of schemes at several gambling halls in Ontario and Quebec in 2018. Her defrauding attempts included scamming casinos by sending fake bank drafts. She was ordered to pay casinos CA$125,000 in restitution.
Also last week, the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario issued a sizeable monetary fine to Ontario Gaming GTA Limited Partnership. The penalty is in relation to a table game dealer at Casino Woodbine and alleges that the operator failed to detect or take appropriate action to prevent the cheat-at-play and the dealer collusion scheme.
Source: Rocca, Ryan “Lottery scam targeted older adults in Canada, Brampton man arrested: police” GlobalNews, September 19, 2023
