Manitoba man charged in mail thefts worked as paramedic

The Manitoba man who was charged with fraud in connection to cashing cheques stolen from rural Manitoba mailboxes was working as a paramedic, Global News has learned.

Ryan Fortescue, 44, was working for the Interlake-Eastern Regional Health Authority when he was charged on June 29 in connection with more than 200 complaints about mail being stolen from mailboxes in a number of rural municipalities, including Springfield, East St. Paul and Selkirk.

About two and a half weeks after being charged, he was put on unpaid leave from work. The health authority’s spokesperson said the organization “moved to place him on unpaid leave once we became aware there were charges placed against him” on July 17, 2018.

During the time when he was allegedly stealing from mailboxes, he was working as a paramedic and seemingly responding to emergency medical calls in homes.

Officers won’t be investigating homes where he worked, said Manitoba RCMP.

“We can only encourage anyone who believes they may have been a victim of a crime to contact the police in order for the matter to be investigated,” Sgt. Paul Manaigre said.

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "We can only encourage anyone who believes they may have been a victim of a crime to contact the police in order for the matter to be investigated," Sgt. Paul Manaigre said.

It’s not the role of the police to inform a person’s employer if they are charged with a criminal offense,” added Sgt. Manaigre.

“Due to privacy laws, it would be up to the person who’s charged with a criminal offence to decide whether he informs his employer or not,” he said.

A Winnipeg employment lawyer, who works with unions and asked not to be named to avoid potential future conflict-of-interest, said if someone is charged with a criminal offense, they may not have to disclose the charge to their employer.

For example, people would have to look at their union collective agreement or employment contract for the fine print, but if there are no requirements then people wouldn’t have to disclose.

Fortescue’s brushes with the law date back to 2017. He was charged nine times with defrauding the Manitoba Employment Income Assistance of $495 from September 2017 monthly until June 2018.

He was also charged for using a forged cheque on March 5, 2018.