A man who is believed to be connected to a series of sophisticated rental fraud incidents in Greater Victoria was arrested again on Sunday, according to VicPD.
In late September, Victoria police issued a warning about two men who were arrested for their alleged involvement in several complex rental scams, including one man who was suspected of being involved in at least nine similar incidents in Greater Victoria.
Police released a photo of one of the suspects at the time in an appeal for more victims to come forward.
"Given the man’s extensive history of fraud charges and convictions, and the number of victims in the current series of frauds that officers are investigating, investigators are concerned that there may be additional victims," Victoria police said in a release on Sept. 21.
On Monday VicPD said that same suspect had been arrested while attempting to commit another fraud.
RECENT ARREST
Police say they received a report from someone who owns a suite in the 600-block of Toronto Street saying that they had recently rented a room to a man.
However, the man refused to pay the rent shortly after moving in and told the victim "not to call police and made concerning statements about what would happen if police were called," VicPD said in a release Monday.
After the encounter, the property owner recognized the man from VicPD's previous release about rental fraud investigations and reached out to police.
Investigators examined surveillance footage from the building and were able to confirm the renter was indeed the suspect from the earlier incidents.
Police went to the suite and arrested the man, where they reportedly found ID and bank documents belonging to several people, "as well as evidence of additional, continuing rental frauds similar to those for which the suspect had been previously arrested."
The man is facing eight recommended charges stemming from his arrest on Sunday, including fraud under $5,000, forgery of a passport, use of a forged document and five charges of failing to comply with probation conditions.
Police say all of the incidents remain under investigation, and investigators are still concerned there may be more victims.
Anyone with information, or who was a victim of a similar fraud, is asked to call Victoria police at 250-995-7654.
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