12 arrested in identity fraud scheme bust
A Belle River man has been identified by Toronto police as one of 12 people arrested in a synthetic-identity fraud case dubbed Project Deja Vu.
Synthetic-identity fraud is a form of financial fraud where fictional personal information is used to open accounts in banks, financial institutions and other businesses.
“But this isn't just about fraud,” said Det. David Coffey with the financial crimes unit. “Accounts obtained under synthetic-identity are known to facilitate other serious criminal offences, including the laundering of the proceeds of human trafficking, drug trafficking and armed robbery among other serious crimes.”
Mian Muhammad Saud, 35, of Belle River was charged with laundering proceeds of crime, fraud over $5,000 and uttering a forged document, along with 11 others who altogether face a total of 102 charges.
In October 2022, police began investigating a synthetic-identity credit fraud scheme that began in 2016. The perpetrators are alleged to have created more than 680 unique synthetic identities used to open hundreds of bank accounts.
“The fraudulently obtained credit accounts were then drawn upon by way of in-store and online purchases, cash withdrawals, or electronic fund transfers,” Coffey said.
“In many cases, fraudulent payments were made into the credit account to allow them to be drawn beyond their defined limits. To date, this scheme has resulted in confirmed losses of approximately $4 million.”
The investigation began with a report from a financial institution that located several synthetic accounts, most of which had been opened by a single person who had previously worked on behalf of the company.
Police executed more than 20 search warrants and 80 production orders to investigate the case and seized several dozen synthetic identity documents, electronic templates to create false identifications and false documents, hundreds of payment cards associated with bank/credit accounts obtained under synthetic identities and approximately $300,000.
Also charged are Hasnain Akram, 28, of Brampton; Muhammad Hamza Baig, 31, of Ayr; Zelle Ali Choudary, 34, of Brampton; Rashad Iqbal, 41, of Caledon; Ranafayysal Masood Khan, 38, of Mississauga; Anmol Khurana, 27, of Markham; Fahad Ben Mofeez, 30, of Brampton; Muhammad Usman Saif, 32, of Brampton; Ali Sana, 26, of Brampton; Sibt Hussain Syed, 60, of Brampton; and Mueed Tanveer, 27, of Brampton.