Police urging more victims to come forward after construction business owner arrested in GTA fraud investigation
Posted January 19, 2024 10:26 am.
Last Updated January 19, 2024 10:58 am.
A Richmond Hill construction business owner is facing more than two dozen charges and police believe there are many victims who have yet to come forward in a fraud investigation in York Region.
In a Friday release, York Regional Police say officers with the financial crime unit started an investigation into a construction company in 2022.
The company, which investigators say operated as National Concrete Forming and Pars Concrete, would allegedly purchase concrete forms and construction materials using fake bank drafts.
The suspect who made the purchases would sell the products to third parties at a discounted rate, police say. When the initial sellers would learn the bank drafts were fraudulent the money was already gone.
Police say the fraudulent transactions totalled $600,000.
“The victims’ trust was gained before they accepted large bank drafts for products,” reads the YRP release. “Investigators believe that similar transactions have been made for several years across the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area, and that there are many more victims that have yet to come forward.”
Officers executed a search warrant at an address in Toronto linked to the company owner on Tuesday, making an arrested and seizing a quantity of drugs.
Richmond Hill resident Ruzbeh Akhlaghi, 45, is facing 28 charges including six counts of fraud over $5,000.
Police have released photos of the suspect and are urging any other victims to come forward.
