Two Toronto men have been arrested in connection with a moving scam, police say.
Toronto police said two men were allegedly operating “several budget moving companies under different names.”
Police said the customer was provided with a low-cost contact to move their belongings.
Officers said once the items were loaded onto a truck, the men would contact the customers and demand more money.
According to police, the customers would be forced to pay the inflated prices, which were in the thousands of dollars.
“Customers who were unable to pay had their belongings held in an undisclosed warehouse, incurring storage fees,” police said in a news release.
Police said the men operated businesses under several names:
- 12282569 Canada Inc.
- O’Canada Movers
- Roadway Moving and Storage Inc.
- SafeBound Moving and Storage Inc.
- Canadian Principal Movers
- All You Can Move
- Right on Track Moving
- New Vision Moving
- Greenway Moving
According to police, on June 24, officers executed search warrants in the Bellamy Road and Progress Avenue area.
Police said two Toronto men were arrested: Cemal Ozturk and Dogan Celik, both 30 years old.
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Police said they were each charged with four counts of false pretense, four counts of fraud over $5,000, four counts of mischief over $5,000, four counts of possession of property obtained by crime and conspiracy to commit an indictable offence.
According to police, they appeared in court on Friday.
“Investigators believe that there may be more victims and they are encouraged to contact police at 41 Division,” the release read.
In an update on Monday, police said investigators “identified another person believed to be involved in this scam.”
Twenty-seven-year-old Toronto resident Amethyst Jones is wanted for four counts of false pretense, four counts of fraud over $5,000, four counts of mischief over $5,000, four counts of possession of property obtained by crime, and conspiracy to commit an indictable offence.
Police added that they “have recovered a substantial amount” of items believed to be from victims.
“It will take some time to sort through them and return them to their owners. Victims can claim these items by contacting investigators at 416-808-4100,” police said.
Anyone with information is asked to contact police or Crime Stoppers.
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