A 27-year-old woman has been arrested in connection with a moving scam in Toronto, police say.
In a press release, 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.
According to police, on Tuesday, 27-year-old Amethyst Jones from Toronto turned herself in to police.
She has been charged with 22 counts each of false pretense, fraud over $5,000, mischief over $5,000 and possession of property obtained by crime. She has also been charged with conspiracy to commit an indictable offence.
Police said Jones appeared in court on Wednesday morning.
Officers said a “substantial amount” of personal items believed to be from victims has been recovered.
“It will take some time to sort through them and return them to their owners,” officers said in a press release. “Victims can claim these items by contacting investigators at 416-808-4100.”
Anyone with information is asked to contact police or Crime Stoppers.