Peel Regional Police have taken legal action against a 24-year-old individual from Kitchener in relation to two incidents involving fake money used to buy valuable metals from private sellers on online platforms.
The Fraud Bureau initiated an inquiry following complaints from two sellers who were deceived during meetings arranged for the sale of gold and silver.
In the first case in January, the suspect connected with a seller through Facebook Marketplace to buy gold bars valued at around $8,500. During the meeting at a residence in Brampton, the suspect handed over a stack of $100 bills. While the seller was counting the money, the suspect allegedly snatched the gold bars and made off. Later, it was revealed that $8,300 of the cash was fake.
A second victim emerged in March with a similar story. The accused purportedly agreed to buy gold and silver bars worth $5,700 and paid in cash. Upon inspection, it was found that $5,600 of the money was counterfeit.
Terran Miller, 24, from Kitchener has been apprehended and charged with two counts of fraud over $5,000, two counts of having counterfeit currency, two counts of using counterfeit currency, and failing to comply with a release order.
At the time of his arrest, Miller was being pursued by various agencies across Ontario for comparable alleged crimes and was already under a judicial release for other fraud-related offenses.
The investigation is ongoing, and the claims have not been verified in court.
