'Fraud factory' dismantled in Metro Vancouver, police say

Mounties in Burnaby have arrested four men alleged to have been operating a "fraud factory," seizing hundreds of fake IDs, $300,000 worth of property, and a handgun.

In a statement Thursday, the detachment said its prolific offender suppression team began its probe in March after receiving a report that two industrial printers had been "fraudulently purchased" in Burnaby. The machines – capable of printing driver's licences, credit cards, bank drafts, and other documents – were valued at $97,000, according to police.

Less than two weeks after the first report, authorities were again alerted to significant purchases made with a "forged bank draft," the news release from the Burnaby RCMP says. The two excavators and one generator were valued at a combined $215,000, according to police.

On April 26, nearly two months after the investigation began, police searched a property in Pitt Meadows. Officers found the printers, excavators and generators along with additional evidence they say led them to believe the property was home to a fraud factory.

"Hundreds of items were seized including numerous printers, hard drives, network storage, laser engravers, a VIN plate stamping machine and modifying tools, hundreds of fraudulent identification cards and blank identification cards, blank bank draft paper, a handgun and ammunition," the statement says.

The four men who were arrested have not been charged or identified and were released from custody. The Burnaby RCMP say possible charges include fraud over $5,000, theft over $5,000, possession of stolen property, uttering forged documents and identification fraud.

“Identity theft and fraud are serious criminal offences that can have a significant impact on the lives of victims and the viability of businesses,” said Insp. Matt Toews in the media release.

“The discovery and seizure of this potential fraud factory will put a sizable dent in the criminal activity of this group.”