NEWS RELEASE
NIAGARA REGIONAL POLICE SERVICE
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Niagara Falls uniform officers from the Niagara Regional Police Service (NRPS) commenced a fraud investigation in the city of Niagara Falls. Officers were called to a local business that sells personal protective equipment.
Detectives from the NRPS Central Fraud Unit became involved and began investigating a suspected fraudulent purchase of personal protective equipment related to COVID-19. During the course of the investigation, detectives were lead to the City of Vaughan. As a result, NRPS detectives have since been working jointly with detectives from the York Regional Police Service (YRPS) Financial Crimes Unit.
The focus of the investigation involved the purchase of 130,000 N95 face masks and 7,500 eight-ounce bottles of hand sanitizer with a fraudulent bank draft. The estimated value of the masks and sanitizer is approximately $767,000.
On June 23, 2020 detectives from the NRPS executed a search warrant at a warehouse in the area of Pine Valley Drive and Highway 407 in Vaughan.
Detectives have arrested and charged Richard Richard Hariraj, 34, of Woodbridge with the alleged criminal offences of:
- Possession of Property Obtained by Crime over $5,000
Hariraj was taken into custody and has been released on a Form 10 undertaking with a future court date in the York Region.
NRPS detectives have located and seized almost all of the N95 masks and bottles of hand sanitizer.
The investigation remains ongoing by the detectives. Anyone with information is asked to contact detectives by calling 905-688-4111, extension 9076.
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