Granny-scam courier found guilty after trial
Judge rejects claims of Saleh Abdullah Mohamed, 30, that he didn’t know he was part of a scheme that defrauded Fredericton-area seniors of $78,000
A judge says a Montreal man’s claims he was in the dark about the scam perpetuated against capital-region seniors don’t hold water, and she found him guilty as charged on eight counts.
Saleh Abdullah Mohamed, 30, of rue Guy in Montreal, stood trial in late February on seven counts of fraud and one of attempted fraud, all of which occurred in the capital region between Aug. 22-25.
It was an abbreviated trial, as Mohamed admitted he acted as a courier in the scam in Fredericton and surrounding communities in late August.
The fraud scheme consisted of the same ruse, perpetrated initially by phone. One of the scammers would call an elderly victim claiming to be their grandchild or nephew.
“In most cases, the ‘grandchild’ or ‘relative’ would advise that they had been arrested; most often, the alleged crime involved drug possession or causing a car accident injuring a pregnant woman,” an agreed statement of facts filed with the court stated.
“The ‘grandchild/relative’ was calling for help from the complainant to either be released on bail or sentenced for the alleged crime.”
Occasionally, a second scammer would impersonate a police officer or other player in the justice system, telling the victim how much money was needed to secure the release of their loved one.
“The complainant was told not to speak to anyone and sometimes warned of a gag order being in place,” the statement of facts said.
“The complainant was instructed to retrieve the funds the same day and that a courier would be sent to his or her house to collect the envelope.”
Victims were told they’d know the courier, Mohamed, because he would use a code word, usually “yellow,” to identify himself as the person to whom the cash should be given.
“In almost all cases, the complainants would later contact their relatives to learn that he or she had never been in custody and subsequently reported the matter to police,” the fact document stated.
Victims in the area were fleeced for $78,000 in cash in late August. Two of the victims gave $18,000 apiece to the scammers.
Mohamed’s defence was that since he wasn’t aware of the scam, he didn’t have the intent to commit acts of fraud.
But in a decision rendered March 31, provincial court Judge Natalie LeBlanc rejected that defence, noting that the evidence - even Mohamed’s own testimony - showed the defendant knew something hinky was going on.
Mohamed testified after accompanying an acquaintance - Manasseh (MK) Kebede, 20 - all the way from Montreal to New Brunswick, he was tasked with picking up envelopes at the homes of seniors.
LeBlanc noted that the defendant admitted the people from whom he’d collect envelopes of cash were often upset or crying, and that was one of the many signals that something was off with his new “job.”
“At one point, he asked MK if he was safe, and MK told him to stop asking questions,” the judge said Monday, noting that Mohamed admitted he became suspicious it was “a bad job.”
“He knew he was getting instructions from an unknown third party.”
When Mohamed was driven to victims’ homes, Kebede would circle the area for a while and keep an eye out for police.
“[Defence] counsel argues he was prepared to know the truth, but the information was not made available to him,” LeBlanc said.
She said Mohamed’s testimony wasn’t credible or reliable, and she found he had direct knowledge that he was involved in a criminal endeavour.
However, the judge said, even if she’s incorrect about that, in the alternative, Mohamed was reckless and/or wilfully blind to what he was doing, and therefore still culpable under the law.
She set the sentencing hearing down for Monday. The Fredericton Independent will publish a followup report on that proceeding later this week.
Kebede pleaded guilty to the same eight charges in February, and he’s scheduled to be sentenced April 20.
Police forces in the province issued advisories last summer about such granny scams. The RCMP and Fredericton Police Force investigated instances of the fraud scheme locally, leading to the Mounties’ arrest of Mohamed and Kebede on Aug. 25.
Four other Quebec men were arrested in Saint John on allegations of running the same scam around the same time as well.
Don MacPherson can be contacted at ftonindependent@gmail.com.
Diversity is our strength right? If he is an immigrant I hope he gets deported. Taking advantage of seniors is disgusting.