Ottawa fraud investigators have laid dozens of charges against the operators of three snow removal companies that allegedly took payment but provided little to no actual service to customers last winter.
The Ottawa Police Service’s fraud unit said Monday it conducted investigations into Ottawa-based Snow Vaporizers, Faul Properties and Altitude Snow Removal after members of the public made allegations of fraud against the three companies.
Investigators allege that each of the companies fraudulently obtained money from prospective clients but ultimately delivered “little to no snow removal service” in return.
As a result, the fraud unit has laid charges against each of the three companies’ operators:
- Snow Vaporizers owner Michael Labrecque, 29, allegedly obtained $34,500 through fraud and is facing 14 total charges.
- Faul Properties owner Alexandre Albuquerque-Bussieres, 40, allegedly obtained $3,300 via fraud and is facing 22 total charges.
- Altitude Snow Removal owner Nataliano Petrini-Woolley, 28, allegedly obtained $7,000 through fraud and is facing 14 total charges.
The fraud unit says each of the three companies operated independently and are not connected to each other.
Investigators are concerned the three companies might have additional victims and ask anyone affected to file an online report.