A 39-year-old man is facing 76 charges following a lengthy investigation by Waterloo Regional Police into the theft and forgery of annual inspection certificates and safety standard certificates from local auto repair shops.
Police said the investigation began in June 2017 after police received a report that certificates were missing from a shop.
Investigators allege the suspect, who was an employee at a Kitchener repair shop, was involved in the theft and forgery of these documents for personal financial gain.
“Annual inspection certificates and safety standard certificates are issued to authorized repair shops,” police said in a news release on Friday. “The certificates are the property of the Ministry of Transportation and monitored by its enforcement personnel.”
The certificates are required under the Highway Traffic Act and National Safety Code, and they prove compliance with safety and maintenance standards for commercial motor vehicles.
Police said the investigation identified 135 annual inspection certificates and 59 safety standards certificate missing from the repair shop, but officers are looking into how many certificates are missing from a repair shop in Palmerston, where the suspect previously worked.
“It’s alleged that the accused signed the certificates in the names of different mechanics and used their mechanic trades numbers,” police explained.
Certificates belonging to the shops in Kitchener and Palmerston have been linked to various trucking companies in Waterloo Region and abroad.
Eight companies have already been identified.
The man is now facing several charges related to theft and forging documents.
The Ministry of Transportation and the Ontario College of Trades is involved in the investigation.
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