CRA scam: Fraud charges approved against former Burnaby resident who fled Canada
Police say criminal charges have been filed against a former Burnaby resident who was allegedly involved in international telephone scams, including some in which the callers purported to be from the Canada Revenue Agency.
Haoran Xue has been charged with nine counts of fraud-related offences, according to a news release issued by the BC RCMP Federal Financial Integrity team on Thursday.
Specifically, Xue is facing the following charges:
- Fraud over $5,000
- Being party to an offence
- Theft over $5,000
- Possession of property obtained by crime
- Dealing with an identity document without lawful excuses
- Identity theft
- Personation with intent to gain advantage
- Multiple counts of uttering a forged document
The charges stem from an investigation into telephone scams that began in June 2019, police say, adding that the scammers were purporting to be representatives of the CRA, bank or police investigators, or software companies.
Victims of the scams were instructed to send the scammers cash via courier companies, police say.
Xue, then a 27-year-old Burnaby resident, was allegedly part of a group responsible for the "elaborate telemarketing scheme." Police say he communicated with three other people on encrypted and unencrypted social messaging platforms to co-ordinate the scheme.
Police allege that Xue participated in the fraud and subsequent money laundering related to seven victims, who collectively lost nearly $200,000, though $90,000 of that total was intercepted and returned, according to police.
Mounties say Xue fled Canada in August 2019 and a warrant has been issued for his arrest.
They also say that a home in Burnaby has been foreclosed by the B.C. Supreme Court for being "proceeds and an instrument of unlawful activity." The property has been sold, with proceeds from the sale now being held by the court.
In the release, the officer in charge of the BC RCMP Federal Serious and Organized Crime unit's financial integrity section, Supt. Brent Taylor, praises the investigators for their work.
"The dedicated work and determination of the financial integrity investigators who brought this national investigation to a positive result is commendable," Taylor says. "Too often, those who perpetrate these types of crime remain anonymous."
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Harvey Weinstein's 2020 rape conviction overturned by N.Y. appeals court
New York's highest court on Thursday overturned Harvey Weinstein's 2020 rape conviction, reversing a landmark ruling of the #MeToo era in determining the trial judge improperly allowed women to testify about allegations against the ex-movie mogul that weren't part of the case.
BREAKING Honda to get up to $5B in govt help for EV battery, assembly plants
Honda is set to build an electric vehicle battery plant next to its Alliston, Ont., assembly plant, which it is retooling to produce fully electric vehicles, all part of a $15-billion project that is expected to include up to $5 billion in public money.
MPP Sarah Jama asked to leave Ontario legislature for wearing keffiyeh
MPP Sarah Jama was asked to leave the Legislative Assembly of Ontario by House Speaker Ted Arnott on Thursday for wearing a keffiyeh, a garment that is banned at Queen’s Park.
CTE: Researchers believe widespread brain injury may contribute to veteran suicide rate
Researchers are working to better understand if some Canadian military veterans may be suffering from Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy, also known as CTE -- a disorder previously found in the brains of professional football and hockey players after their death.
1 arrested in northern Alberta during public shelter order
Residents of John D'Or Prairie, a community on the Little Red River Cree Nation in northern Alberta, were told to take shelter Thursday morning during a police operation.
Secret $70M Lotto Max winners break their silence
During a special winner celebration near their hometown, Doug and Enid shared the story of how they discovered they were holding a Lotto Max ticket worth $70 million and how they kept this huge secret for so long.
Remains from a mother-daughter cold case were found nearly 24 years later, after a deathbed confession from the suspect
A West Virginia father is getting some sense of closure after authorities found the remains of his young daughter and her mother following a deathbed confession from the man believed to have fatally shot them nearly two decades ago.
New deep-water channel allows first ship to pass Key bridge wreckage in Baltimore
The first cargo ship passed through a newly opened deep-water channel in Baltimore on Thursday after being stuck in the harbor since the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapsed four weeks ago, halting most maritime traffic through the city's port.
First in Canada procedure performed at London, Ont. hospital
A London man has become the first person in Canada to receive a robotic assisted surgery on his spine. Dave Myeh suffered from debilitating, chronic back pain that led to sciatica in his right now and extreme pain in his lower back.