Man accused of fraud across province arrested in city

In the old days carpetbagging con-men would travel from town to town, pass a bad cheque or two, perhaps sell a bottle of the all-curing cure-all, and leave town swiftly with a few extra bucks in their pocket and no great harm done.

Transfer that same carpetbagger to 2019, and maybe he would have been able to do what one alleged fraudster was able to do, and make off with hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Emmanuel P. Gordon, 35, of Edmonton, was arrested in Lethbridge on March 11 after an alleged fraud spree through many communities netted him $330,000.

Gordon was finally caught in Lethbridge after he allegedly used fraudulent documents to open a bank account on Feb. 27 at ATB Financial along the 600 block of Mayor Magrath Drive South. The bank was later notified Gordon was a suspect in fraud incidents in Calgary, and quickly froze the account.

When Gordon came back on March 11, the bank machine withheld his card. It was at this point the bank’s astute staff phoned police, and were successful in keeping him on scene until officers arrived.

Upon seeing police, Gordon attempted to flee and a foot chase ensued. He was apprehended a short distance away.

It wasn’t the first time Gordon had tried this same scheme, police say.

Lethbridge Police Service said in a statement: “Further investigation determined the male used fraudulent documents to open accounts at ATB along the 700 block of 4 Avenue South and was a suspect in multiple fraud incidents at other ATB locations throughout the province, including Calgary, Red Deer, Grande Prairie, Lloydminster and St. Albert, totalling more than $330,000. In those cases the suspect deposited empty envelopes and fake cheques into the accounts then withdrew the cash before they were discovered.”

Gordon faces 16 charges in Lethbridge including possession of a forged document, using a forged document, forgery, attempted fraud and resisting arrest. He is also facing numerous charges in the other jurisdictions where his suspected carpetbagging ways have taken him.

Gordon appeared in Lethbridge provincial court March 15 and was subsequently released on bail. He is scheduled to return to court April 18.

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