Police Bust Multi-Million Dollar Worldwide Fraud Ring Based In T.O.

Monday March 10, 2008
CityNews.ca Staff

It's one of the biggest fraud cases cops here have seen in a very long time and it was as devious as it was clever. It involves the theft of more than $700,000 in electronic equipment, extensive credit card fraud, stolen vehicles and as much as $10 million in overall losses.

Cops first became aware of the scheme last December and began to track those they accuse of being behind it. They say the suspects set up a number of phony companies which appeared to be the real thing, and after gaining the trust of their "clients", would order large amounts of electronic merchandise. The purchases were paid for using certified cheques which were later found to be counterfeit. But by then, the material had been delivered and the crooks who took it were long gone.

As if that wasn't enough, cops say the men also rented a large number of expensive cars using the same M.O. Many were driven from the lot straight to a container, where they - and the ill-gotten electronics - were shipped overseas and resold.

Once they cleared customs, the gang reported the cars stolen, which, ironically, they were. So far, authorities have only been able to recover six of the vehicles with an overall estimated value of $280,000.

There were more than a thousand victims of credit card fraud pinpointed and scores of phony health cards, SIN cards, passports and I.D. papers found when police finally closed in.

Cops say the accused had ties to Nigeria, a country known to be the source of those infamous Internet scam emails many people receive randomly in their email. "This has been going on for a number of years," explains Supt. Ron Tavener. "One of the accused in this matter has been deported from the country eight times and keeps returning obviously with forged documents."

A 39-year-old Toronto man named Edmund Ezemo (top left) is facing a long list of charges. Detectives think there are other victims in this case and want to know if anyone else may have come in contact with him. If you've had business dealings with the accused, call (416) 808-2300.