Three suspects in multiple frauds on Baseline Road sought by Ottawa police
The Ottawa Police Service is asking the public for help in identifying three suspects involved in an alleged theft and multiple fraud incidents that happened last month in the city's west end.
The alleged frauds happened in the 1900 block of Baseline Road, which is located near College Square.
Police say around 2:40 p.m. on Sept. 11, one of the suspects distracted a victim by offering help while another stole their credit card. The three suspects then used the stolen credit card to make multiple purchases.
The first suspect is described by police as a light-skinned man, around 40 years old, 5'10", with a short dark beard. At the time, he was wearing a black t-shirt, jean jacket and black baseball cap.
Suspect number two is described as a light-skinned woman, in her 40's, approximately 5'4", with long dark hair and a tattoo on her right forearm. At the time, she was wearing a white shirt, green pants, white shoes and sunglasses.
Police say the third suspect is described as a woman "possibly East Indian," with long black hair. At the time, she was seen wearing a long blue and white dress with a long-sleeve white shirt over top and black shoes. She was also seen carrying a white purse.
A police spokesperson says the investigation is related to a CTV News Ottawa story last week about a senior who was the victim of a theft in a parking lot at College Square.
Madeleine Gervais was a victim of a distraction theft in Ottawa's west end in the Loblaws parking lot, when she was approached by a man and a woman who insisted on helping her load her groceries into her car on Sept. 11, she told CTV News Ottawa's Astin Lee.
One of them stood in front of her, helping to load the vehicle, while the second person stood behind her, covertly fishing through her backpack, swiping her wallet.
"I went back in the car. I didn’t think anything of it. I just told my husband, 'They were so nice and polite,' and then we went back home," said Gervais
The next day, Gervais says she went online to check her accounts and noticed a long list of fraudulent transactions on her credit cards. In total, she was out nearly $10,000.
"I went to the bank right away and they checked. It was true, there was money taken from personal account and my business account. There was also money taken from my credit card too," she said.
"All of my personal information was in my wallet. My social insurance number, my health card, my driver’s license, and other cards."
Gervais is in the process of being reimbursed by her bank and the credit card company, but she also lost a significant amount of cash and still wants to see the suspects held responsible.
Anyone with information about these suspects are asked to call police at 613-236-1222 extension 2296, or to leave a tip anonymously crimestoppers.ca.
With files from CTV News Ottawa's Austin Lee
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING 4 more Trudeau cabinet ministers not running for re-election, shuffle expected soon: sources
Federal cabinet minister Filomena Tassi announced Thursday she will not run for re-election, and sources tell CTV News at least three other cabinet ministers don't plan to run again.
OHL responds to CTV W5 investigation into alleged sexual assault by former junior hockey players
The Ontario Hockey League (OHL) has released a statement in response to a recent CTV W5 investigation into an alleged sexual assault in 2014.
BREAKING Liam Payne died from fall injuries, Argentina autopsy finds
Former One Direction musician Liam Payne died due to multiple traumas and internal and external bleeding caused by a fall, an Argentine prosecutors' office said on Thursday, revealing the first official results of the singer's autopsy.
BREAKING Israel's foreign minister confirms that Hamas' top leader Yahya Sinwar was killed in Gaza
Israel’s foreign minister has confirmed that Israeli troops in Gaza have killed Hamas’ top leader Yahya Sinwar, a chief architect of last year's attack on Israel that sparked the war.
India denies Canadian allegation that it uses mobsters to target Sikh separatists in Canada
India’s External Affairs Ministry has denied that India was in cahoots with India-based mobsters in Canada and even suggested that Canadian authorities had been resisting India's extradition attempts.
Disney's new all-access, skip-the-line plan can cost more than the park ticket does
Got a few hundred extra dollars? That will buy you one person’s access to Disney’s new service at its U.S.parks, which allows you to go into a faster line at any time of the operating day – once per ride – without having to reserve it on an app.
'It was very unnerving': Ontario woman receives sextortion email demanding Bitcoin or have compromising photos leaked
An Ontario woman is feeling uneasy after she received a sextortion email demanding she pay the fraudster US$1,900 in Bitcoin or risk having compromising photographs of herself shared with her loved ones.
Edmonton police investigate 2 fires where extortion notes were left
Edmonton police are asking the public for CCTV footage as they investigate two fires that appear to have been deliberately set as part of an extortion scheme.
NEW Anti-Israel message displayed on digital billboard in Moncton after 'malicious hack'
A profane anti-Israel message on a digital billboard in Moncton, N.B., has been turned off, but the question of how it got there in the first place remains.