Fort Saskatchewan RCMP lay charges following fraud investigation

On March 3, Fort Saskatchewan RCMP received a complaint of fraud from a business on 118 street in Fort Saskatchewan.

The company reported their CEO’s email inbox was hacked and an email was sent requesting an invoice be paid for over $54,000. It was later determined the email was fraudulent and the company suffered a loss of the funds, as they were deposited into the suspect’s account. A second similar request was then made, tipping off the company that the initial request was fraudulent.

An investigation ensued and a suspect was identified. It was determined the suspect was also involved in similar fraudulent activity in Ontario. Because the circumstances around both the Ontario investigation and the Fort Saskatchewan investigation were so similar, a Canada wide warrant was granted to the Ontario Provincial Police. A warrant was also granted for the charges out of Fort Saskatchewan.

On March 24, with the assistance of Calgary Police Service, Trevor Howarth (55), a resident of Calgary, was located and arrested on his outstanding warrants.

Howarth was charged with one count of Fraud over $5,000 for his Fort Saskatchewan matters. H
owarth was released following a Judicial Interim Release Hearing and is scheduled to appear in the Alberta Court of Justice on April 25 in Fort Saskatchewan.

Fort Saskatchewan RCMP remind the public to be diligent when actioning online requests, no matter how convincing the request may appear.

Constable Lauren Mowbray
Fort Saskatchewan RCMP-GRC