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A fraud at a Southwestern Ontario retirement home is “bigger than it first appeared” and has cost victims more than the $50,000 originally estimated, police tell The London Free Press.
More individuals have contacted officials since Ontario Provincial Police were notified a few weeks ago that multiple people at a home in the Oxford County town of Norwich had fallen victim to a scam.
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“More victims are coming forward,” OPP Const. Randi Crawford said. “I can tell you that it’s bigger than it first appeared, and we’re doing everything we can to build a great case so that we can do justice for these victims.”
Although Crawford was unsure of the total cost of the fraud, she said it will “for sure be bigger than” the more than $50,000 first believed to have been lost by victims.
Crawford said she wasn’t sure exactly how many people had been affected, but two more people had reached out to police recently. “We’ve got probably at least seven, and I’m sure there’s more than that, but the numbers seem to keep coming in.”
As of Tuesday evening, Crawford hadn’t heard of any charges laid in connection with the fraud, but said there is only one person police are looking at as a main suspect.
Police didn’t name the retirement home at the centre of the investigation or whether a staff member may be connected to the probe. But an employee at Trillium Care Communities Norwich declined to comment “because the investigation is ongoing.”
Said Crawford: “Our detectives are working very tirelessly with this one, writing warrants and getting bank information and all that kind of stuff to be able to prove these incidences.”
Police have previously said that anyone with information is asked to call Oxford OPP at 1-888-310-1122 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477).
The Local Journalism Initiative is funded by the Government of Canada
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