Officers are looking for “many more” victims after an arrest was made in a series of frauds involving construction materials, police say.
York Regional Police said an investigation was launched in 2022 looking into a construction company called National Concrete Forming and Pars Concrete.
Police allege a suspect bought concrete forms and other construction materials using fraudulent bank drafts, and then sold the items to third parties at a discounted price.
“By the time the initial sellers discovered the bank drafts were fake, the money was gone,” police said.
“These transactions total $600,000 in frauds…. The victims’ trust was gained before they accepted large bank drafts for products.”
It’s believed that similar transactions have been made for several years in the Greater Toronto-Hamilton Area and there are “many more” victims who haven’t come forward, police said.
On Tuesday, officers executed a warrant at an address in Toronto that police said was associated with the company’s owner. An arrest was made and drugs were allegedly seized.
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Richmond Hill resident Ruzbeh Akhlaghi, 45, is facing a number of charges including six counts of fraud over $5,000.
At the time of the alleged offences, Akhlaghi was on probation for unrelated crimes, police said.
Anyone with information about the case can contact York police’s financial crimes unit at 1-866-876-5423 ext. 6611 or Crime Stoppers anonymously at 1-800-222-8477.
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