Quebec man charged with 11 counts of fraud in B.C.'s Lower Mainland

A 44-year-old man has been charged after allegedly swapping an envelope containing cash with another envelope that had only paper during a Facebook Marketplace transaction in Toronto. (Toronto Police Service)

A Quebec man is facing 11 counts of fraud connected to incidents across B.C.'s Lower Mainland, Surrey Mounties say.

Florian Dinca, 44, was charged with two counts of fraud and nine counts of fraud over $5,000 following a months-long investigation.

Surrey Mounties said they first got complaints in January from three people saying they became victims of fraud while trying to sell items online. Victims reported they were shown an envelope full of money when they first met the buyer, but later discovered it wasn't the agreed-upon payment.

While investigating these incidents, Mounties discovered similar reports in Vancouver, Burnaby, Richmond, West Vancouver and Maple Ridge and were able to identify a suspect. Then, while preparing its report to Crown counsel, Toronto Police Service informed Surrey RCMP the suspect they'd identified was arrested on April 8.

Envelope swap

Last month, police in Toronto said they arrested and charged Dinca with fraud over $5,000 after he allegedly swapped an envelope full of cash with one filled with paper during a Facebook Marketplace transaction. 

In that instance, police said the accused used the alias "Danny" on the social media platform's buying and selling site, where he reached out to the victim expressing interest in buying some of the items they posted for sale.

He allegedly handed the victim an envelope with cash and received the items that were for sale.

Police said that during that exchange, the accused swapped the envelope with the cash payment for another that contained only paper. The victim didn't realize the envelope had no money inside of it until after the accused left.

Surrey Mounties haven't confirmed the suspect used the same tactics in the Lower Mainland, only saying victims discovered they didn't receive the correct payment.

Back in Surrey custody

Surrey RCMP said they wrapped up their report to Crown counsel "on an urgent basis," allowing a Canada-wide warrant to be issued "with transport custody to Surrey."

Mounties said Dinca remains in pre-trial custody and has a court appearance scheduled for Friday.

"This was a complex investigation which included multiple jurisdictions," Cpl. Sarbjit Sangha said in a news release. "The primary investigator's dedication and investigative skills were paramount in identifying the suspect."

Anyone who thinks they've been a victim of fraud should contact their local police.

With files from CTV News Toronto's Alex Arsenych