Local RCMP officers are in the midst of what Cst. Emma Leslie calls "a significant fraud investigation." The police want the banks and businesses in the Lac La Biche community to be aware that fraudulent cheques are bouncing around in the area.
Local RCMP officers are in the midst of what Cst. Emma Leslie calls "a significant fraud investigation."
The police want the banks and businesses in the Lac La Biche community to be aware that fraudulent cheques are bouncing around in the area.
The cheques bear the name "McDonald Contracting Ltd." but that business does not exist. The cheques are linked to a personal bank account that actually contains no funds.
Even so, some of the cheques have been successfully cashed. They've all had different values, but the highest was approximately $3,800.
Leslie said two arrests have been made, but further details are not being released until the police investigation is complete.
In the meantime, be extra-vigilant if your job involves handling cheques, she said. Since December, there have been about 12 instances of people trying to use fraudulent ones.
That's an unusually high number for a community the size of Lac La Biche, she said. According to Leslie, as frauds go this system of scamming isn't very complex but the sheer number of illicit cheques is raising eyebrows.
"Normally we might get a bad cheque here and there," she said.
The police investigation is ongoing. The POST will update this story as more details are confirmed. Anyone with information relating to these crimes is asked to contact the RCMP or Crime Stoppers.
