Despite Laying Dozens Of Charges Rcmp Have Stopped Targeting Canadian Accomplices In Foreign Scam Calls

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His arrest – and that of his wife, Inderpreet, hours later – was the result of Project Octavia, a rigorous RCMP investigation into multimillion-dollar phone scams chasing Canadians.

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Gurinderpreet and Inderpreet Dhaliwal were arrested within hours of each other in 2020 as part of the RCMP Project Octavia investigation. Both have pleaded not guilty to charges of fraud, money laundering and possession of proceeds of crime. (Facebook)
A police search of his home uncovered $ 114,000 in jewelery, plus cash, a cash register and other evidence police say supports the couple’s claims that they were key mules to a overseas crime syndicate that laundered and laundered money. from Canada victims of fraudulent calls to call center operators based in India. The Dhaliwals’ trial has been repeatedly delayed. Both have pleaded not guilty to charges of fraud, money laundering and possession of proceeds of crime. None of the charges against them have been proven in court. Three others who gathered as part of the wider investigation of the special group escaped from Canada before being arrested. Two others were operating from Nepal, but would be arrested if they ever came to Canada. Two made deals avoiding imprisonment. One was deported. And one has not yet scheduled his trial. But within a year of the Dhaliwals’ capture, Project Octavia disappeared silently. The RCMP working group targeting Canadian fraudulent accomplices has been disbanded, although these calls continue unabated and Canada’s financial losses are increasing. “In an industry like the one that operates with impunity, you are sending a message that Canada is not interested in this kind of crime,” said Vanessa Iafolla, a financial crime researcher at Saint Mary University in Halifax.

Public pressure forced the RCMP’s initial response

Ralph Goodell, then Federal Minister for Public Safety, promised action. Shortly afterwards, a task force was formed in Milton Squadron, Ont., To find those in Canada who provide the critical link between victims here and call centers abroad. “It’s essentially a national priority survey,” RCMP Insp. Jim Ogden said when the working group was formed. But in January 2021, with cases pending and even fraudulent activity growing, the RCMP eliminated the Ontario Financial Crimes Unit, which oversaw Project Octavia, redeploying fraudulent investigators to other areas. While the Mounties officially say work will continue on other pre-existing units, including serious and organized crime teams, a senior RCMP source told Marketplace that the investigations have stopped. In 2019, RCMP Insp. Jim Odgen was optimistic about Project Octavia’s chances of slowing down phone scams, saying at the time that RCMP “made a dent” and “is doing everything we can to stop it”. (David Common / CBC)
The victims “will continue to be victims, they have no appeal,” the source said via email. The CBC gives confidentiality to the source because it fears professional repercussions for their criticism of the decision to terminate Project Octavia effectively. The source says that the RCMP is in a unique position to work with the police in India to deal with the ongoing calls. “These scams have multiple jurisdictions, which makes it impossible for local police departments to deal with them effectively,” the source said. An RCMP spokesman told the Marketplace that Integrated Market Enforcement Teams (IMETs) “remain an exclusive unit that focuses on fraud or other forms of illicit activity in securities markets.”
CLOCKS Canadians continue to lose money from fraudulent calls as the RCMP working group closes:

RCMP dismantles working group dedicated to ending fraudsters over the phone

The CBC Marketplace has spent five years investigating phone scams, fraudsters and alleged coordinators in Canada sending money abroad. Now the team has learned that RCMP, which once promised to do everything in its power to stop spam, has disbanded Project Octavia, its task force dedicated to stopping them. 1:52
The RCMP said the unit “provides expertise in securities legislation, procedures and regulations, financial services, regulatory requirements, forensic accounting, corporate investigations, security risk management and criminal capital market investigations”. However, the source told Marketplace that the unit has nothing to do with investigating telephone fraud. The decision, says Iafolla, is “very reactionary. Vanessa Iafolla is a financial crime researcher and professor of criminology. He says the closure of Project Octavia sends the wrong message to would-be fraudsters. (Dave MacIntosh / CBC)
The termination of the working group, which specifically targets money launderers abroad, “just makes Canada a more attractive place for people to engage in this kind of fraud,” he said. Police say mule money in Canada takes money – and keeps a certain portion of it – in exchange for being a conduit to criminal kings. Not all mules are necessarily aware of their role in fraud. Some grew up in India and came to Canada on student visas, or immigrated, and were recruited to become mules before leaving India or settling in Canada.

How scammers get their money

While most of those who come into contact with fraudsters do not fall victim to the trick, a sufficient number do, which makes it an extremely lucrative endeavor. Phone scammers, Iafolla said, “are people who really understand what vulnerabilities other people have and exploit them.” He describes them as “physical psychologists”. Monique LaFrance, from Gatineau, Que., Lost nearly $ 200,000 in what has become known as the Bank Investigators Plan. “He introduced himself as a security investigator at Royal Bank and told me that my accounts had been compromised,” he said of the fraudulent call he received in August 2020. “He asked me if I wanted to help them find the fraudsters and help others.” Monique LaFrance lost almost $ 200,000 from a bank investigator fraud. (David Common / CBC)
The scammer said she would deposit money into her account – and that she would send that extra money by courier to specific addresses. What she did not realize was that the scammer had access to her online banking and was adding money to her savings account by raising her credit line. “It’s crazy. It’s really crazy. It makes me sick just thinking about it,” he said. Abhinav Bector told CBC reporters who questioned him in November 2021 that he had nothing to say to his alleged victims. (Facebook)
One of these packages was addressed to Abhinav Bector, at his home address, and another package was addressed to Abhi B, a pipeline cleaning company where an employee of the same name was an employee. The RCMP located this package and arrested Bector. He was charged with fraud, money laundering and possession of proceeds of crime. But in an agreement that avoided a trial and the possibility of a prison sentence, he pleaded guilty only to the latter charge. When CBC reporters approached him in November 2021 and asked him if he had anything to say to his victims, some of whom face the prospect of losing their homes and finances, he replied: “I have nothing. I was not.” Signs on Bector’s car indicate that he is now working as an Uber driver. But during the conviction in September 2021, the court heard that he had received a job offer from a Canadian bank. His criminal record will be dropped a year after he pleads guilty, so the bidding bank may never find out about his criminal past.

“I think it’s hard,” said the alleged victim’s daughter

Both Gurinderpreet Dhaliwal, who was arrested by the Mounties in this parking lot in February 2020, and his wife, Inderpreet, are scheduled to stand trial. However, the process has been repeatedly delayed and is no longer scheduled to begin before the spring of 2023. Inderpreet, left, and Gurinderpreet Dhaliwal on the day of their arrest by RCMP officers. Their trial has not yet begun. (CBC)
They continue to stay at Brampton’s home, where police say they found cash linked to fraud. The court documents claim that one of them is Melissa Steele’s father. He does not want to be identified by name, worrying that swindlers will target him again. He has cognitive difficulties and still does not understand what has happened – or the consequences that will change his life. “He received one of those phone calls saying that he owed money from taxes and that he had a problem. He ended up going to his bank and withdrawing money.” He has since been forced to leave home. Steele has a message for the couple who allegedly received their father’s money, leading to accusations. “I would say it is cruel and how they would feel if someone treated their loved ones this way, you know.” Melissa Steele’s father lost $ 69,000 in a phone scam involving alleged mule deer Gurinderpreet and Inderpreet Dhaliwal. (CBC)
CBC reporters asked Inderpreet what it would say to people who have lost their savings, some of whom are expected to testify at the trial. She replied: “No comment.” Her lawyer, Thomas E. Pittman, later contacted the CBC …

title: “Despite Laying Dozens Of Charges Rcmp Have Stopped Targeting Canadian Accomplices In Foreign Scam Calls " ShowToc: true date: “2022-11-11” author: “Shirley Camp”

Watch the full Marketplace survey on Friday at 8 p.m. on CBC-TV or CBC Gem.

His arrest – and that of his wife, Inderpreet, hours later – was the result of Project Octavia, a rigorous RCMP investigation into multimillion-dollar phone scams chasing Canadians.

We want to hear from you! Join Marketplace journalist Nelisha Vellani now in the comments as she answers your questions about this survey.

Gurinderpreet and Inderpreet Dhaliwal were arrested within hours of each other in 2020 as part of the RCMP Project Octavia investigation. Both have pleaded not guilty to charges of fraud, money laundering and possession of proceeds of crime. (Facebook)
A police search of his home uncovered $ 114,000 in jewelery, plus cash, a cash register and other evidence police say supports the couple’s claims that they were key mules to a overseas crime syndicate that laundered and laundered money. from Canada victims of fraudulent calls to call center operators based in India. The Dhaliwals’ trial has been repeatedly delayed. Both have pleaded not guilty to charges of fraud, money laundering and possession of proceeds of crime. None of the charges against them have been proven in court. Three others who gathered as part of the wider investigation of the special group escaped from Canada before being arrested. Two others were operating from Nepal, but would be arrested if they ever came to Canada. Two made deals avoiding imprisonment. One was deported. And one has not yet scheduled his trial. But within a year of the Dhaliwals’ capture, Project Octavia disappeared silently. The RCMP working group targeting Canadian fraudulent accomplices has been disbanded, although these calls continue unabated and Canada’s financial losses are increasing. “In an industry like the one that operates with impunity, you are sending a message that Canada is not interested in this kind of crime,” said Vanessa Iafolla, a financial crime researcher at Saint Mary University in Halifax.

Public pressure forced the RCMP’s initial response

Ralph Goodell, then Federal Minister for Public Safety, promised action. Shortly afterwards, a task force was formed in Milton Squadron, Ont., To find those in Canada who provide the critical link between victims here and call centers abroad. “It’s essentially a national priority survey,” RCMP Insp. Jim Ogden said when the working group was formed. But in January 2021, with cases pending and even fraudulent activity growing, the RCMP eliminated the Ontario Financial Crimes Unit, which oversaw Project Octavia, redeploying fraudulent investigators to other areas. While the Mounties officially say work will continue on other pre-existing units, including serious and organized crime teams, a senior RCMP source told Marketplace that the investigations have stopped. In 2019, RCMP Insp. Jim Odgen was optimistic about Project Octavia’s chances of slowing down phone scams, saying at the time that RCMP “made a dent” and “is doing everything we can to stop it”. (David Common / CBC)
The victims “will continue to be victims, they have no appeal,” the source said via email. The CBC gives confidentiality to the source because it fears professional repercussions for their criticism of the decision to terminate Project Octavia effectively. The source says that the RCMP is in a unique position to work with the police in India to deal with the ongoing calls. “These scams have multiple jurisdictions, which makes it impossible for local police departments to deal with them effectively,” the source said. An RCMP spokesman told the Marketplace that Integrated Market Enforcement Teams (IMETs) “remain an exclusive unit that focuses on fraud or other forms of illicit activity in securities markets.”
CLOCKS Canadians continue to lose money from fraudulent calls as the RCMP working group closes:

RCMP dismantles working group dedicated to ending fraudsters over the phone

The CBC Marketplace has spent five years investigating phone scams, fraudsters and alleged coordinators in Canada sending money abroad. Now the team has learned that RCMP, which once promised to do everything in its power to stop spam, has disbanded Project Octavia, its task force dedicated to stopping them. 1:52
The RCMP said the unit “provides expertise in securities legislation, procedures and regulations, financial services, regulatory requirements, forensic accounting, corporate investigations, security risk management and criminal capital market investigations”. However, the source told Marketplace that the unit has nothing to do with investigating telephone fraud. The decision, says Iafolla, is “very reactionary. Vanessa Iafolla is a financial crime researcher and professor of criminology. He says the closure of Project Octavia sends the wrong message to would-be fraudsters. (Dave MacIntosh / CBC)
The termination of the working group, which specifically targets money launderers abroad, “just makes Canada a more attractive place for people to engage in this kind of fraud,” he said. Police say mule money in Canada takes money – and keeps a certain portion of it – in exchange for being a conduit to criminal kings. Not all mules are necessarily aware of their role in fraud. Some grew up in India and came to Canada on student visas, or immigrated, and were recruited to become mules before leaving India or settling in Canada.

How scammers get their money

While most of those who come into contact with fraudsters do not fall victim to the trick, a sufficient number do, which makes it an extremely lucrative endeavor. Phone scammers, Iafolla said, “are people who really understand what vulnerabilities other people have and exploit them.” He describes them as “physical psychologists”. Monique LaFrance, from Gatineau, Que., Lost nearly $ 200,000 in what has become known as the Bank Investigators Plan. “He introduced himself as a security investigator at Royal Bank and told me that my accounts had been compromised,” he said of the fraudulent call he received in August 2020. “He asked me if I wanted to help them find the fraudsters and help others.” Monique LaFrance lost almost $ 200,000 from a bank investigator fraud. (David Common / CBC)
The scammer said she would deposit money into her account – and that she would send that extra money by courier to specific addresses. What she did not realize was that the scammer had access to her online banking and was adding money to her savings account by raising her credit line. “It’s crazy. It’s really crazy. It makes me sick just thinking about it,” he said. Abhinav Bector told CBC reporters who questioned him in November 2021 that he had nothing to say to his alleged victims. (Facebook)
One of these packages was addressed to Abhinav Bector, at his home address, and another package was addressed to Abhi B, a pipeline cleaning company where an employee of the same name was an employee. The RCMP located this package and arrested Bector. He was charged with fraud, money laundering and possession of proceeds of crime. But in an agreement that avoided a trial and the possibility of a prison sentence, he pleaded guilty only to the latter charge. When CBC reporters approached him in November 2021 and asked him if he had anything to say to his victims, some of whom face the prospect of losing their homes and finances, he replied: “I have nothing. I was not.” Signs on Bector’s car indicate that he is now working as an Uber driver. But during the conviction in September 2021, the court heard that he had received a job offer from a Canadian bank. His criminal record will be dropped a year after he pleads guilty, so the bidding bank may never find out about his criminal past.

“I think it’s hard,” said the alleged victim’s daughter

Both Gurinderpreet Dhaliwal, who was arrested by the Mounties in this parking lot in February 2020, and his wife, Inderpreet, are scheduled to stand trial. However, the process has been repeatedly delayed and is no longer scheduled to begin before the spring of 2023. Inderpreet, left, and Gurinderpreet Dhaliwal on the day of their arrest by RCMP officers. Their trial has not yet begun. (CBC)
They continue to stay at Brampton’s home, where police say they found cash linked to fraud. The court documents claim that one of them is Melissa Steele’s father. He does not want to be identified by name, worrying that swindlers will target him again. He has cognitive difficulties and still does not understand what has happened – or the consequences that will change his life. “He received one of those phone calls saying that he owed money from taxes and that he had a problem. He ended up going to his bank and withdrawing money.” He has since been forced to leave home. Steele has a message for the couple who allegedly received their father’s money, leading to accusations. “I would say it is cruel and how they would feel if someone treated their loved ones this way, you know.” Melissa Steele’s father lost $ 69,000 in a phone scam involving alleged mule deer Gurinderpreet and Inderpreet Dhaliwal. (CBC)
CBC reporters asked Inderpreet what it would say to people who have lost their savings, some of whom are expected to testify at the trial. She replied: “No comment.” Her lawyer, Thomas E. Pittman, later contacted the CBC to emphasize …