Granny-scam driver gets 12 months’ jail
Manasseh Kebede, 20, of Montreal, was part of a fraud ring that fleeced Fredericton-area seniors of cash totalling $78,000 last August
A Montreal man who helped to perpetrate a grandparent phone scam in the Fredericton area was sentenced Thursday to a year behind bars, but with remand credit, he had only six days left to serve.
Manasseh Kebede, 20, of Montreal, pleaded guilty in Fredericton provincial court two months ago to eight indictable charges: seven counts of fraud and one of attempted fraud.
He participated in a scam that bilked the following victims of more than $5,000 apiece: Marie Friesen of Islandview, Dawn and Gerald Drost of Fredericton, Enid Beckwith of Fredericton, David Reed of Fredericton, Mary Matthews of Fredericton, and Verna Peterson of Fredericton, all on Aug. 24; and Donald Trundle of Lincoln on Aug. 25.
The attempted fraud related to events of Aug. 25 involving Judith Baird of Oromocto, who called police about the scam, court heard.
It was that report that led to Kebede’s arrest, as well as that of co-accused Saleh Abdullah Mohamed, 30, also of Montreal.
Kebede was back in court in custody Thursday for his sentencing hearing.
The court heard from one of the victims - Beckwith - whose granddaughter read her victim-impact statement aloud Thursday.
Beckwith wrote she feels “isolated, ashamed, embarrassed, betrayed and stupid” for falling victim to the fraud ring in which Kebede participated.
‘I can’t believe I fell for such a scam’
She noted when she answered the phone Aug. 24 and heard “Hello, Grammy,” she was absolutely convinced it was her grandson, who’d recently moved away from Fredericton.
Beckwith wrote that her “grandson,” who was really an unknown member of the fraud ring, told her that he’d been a passenger in a car and was being detained after an incident.
A “constable” also got on the phone and told her someone needed to post $9,000 for his release, court heard, and the same thing happened again in the morning.
The victim noted family members were away on vacation at the time and she didn’t want to contact them about the situation because she knew they’d drop everything and come home because of her “grandson’s” plight.
After she handed over the $18,000, Beckwith reported, the fraudsters contacted her again. This time, she wrote, her “grandson” needed another $18,000 for release because a loaded gun was supposedly found in the car.
It was when she went to her bank to clean out her RRSP to get the month, court heard, that the bank manager told her to go to the police, realizing she was the victim of a scam.
“I am an educated person,” Beckwith wrote. “I can’t believe I fell for such a scam.”
She reported the crime was devastating financially, since she lives on a fixed income, and she’s considered selling her home to maintain her independence during her golden years.
Crown prosecutor Gwynne Hearn said the investigation showed Kebede and Mohamed drove from Montreal to the capital region in New Brunswick after being recruited to help run the scam.
Kebede’s role, she said, was essentially to drive Mohamed around when he’d pick up envelopes stuffed with thousands in cash from the victims.
There’s no evidence to suggest they were the ones calling the victims, the prosecutor said, and it’s clear they weren’t the masterminds behind it, as they didn’t have any of the money on them when they were arrested by the RCMP in Oromocto on Aug. 25.
“So they just did this for free?” asked Judge Lucie Mathurin.
It appears Kebede and Mohamed were to be paid about $1,500 to $2,000 after the scammers were done in the area, Hearn said, and that hadn’t happened yet.
None of the cash - totalling $78,000 in ill-gotten gains - was recovered, court heard.
Kebede was co-operative with police, Hearn said, and he testified at Mohamed’s trial earlier this year.
She and defence lawyer Emily Cochrane offered a joint recommendation on sentencing: 12 months in jail, less credit for time spent on remand.
Cochrane said Kebede has family support, as his father and brother were present in court Thursday, having travelled from Montreal for the hearing.
She conceded the crimes are serious, as the frauds will have lasting effects on these vulnerable seniors.
“It’s tragic for them,” the defence lawyer said, adding she sympathizes with the victims as she has a family member who fell prey to a different scam not long ago. “I know it’s terrible.”
Cochrane urged the court to consider the mitigating factors in Kebede’s favour, such as his guilty pleas, lack of a prior criminal record and clear signs of remorse. She noted Kebede got involved with a negative peer group recently, and he’s going to have nothing to do with it going forward.
“I’d like to apologize to all the victims today,” Kebede said, standing in the courtroom prisoner’s dock, adding he hadn’t been fully aware of the mechanics and seriousness of the scheme in which he was involved.
“It was probably my job to be more aware of the situation.”
‘It breaks my heart’
Hearn noted police agencies in other jurisdictions are pursuing leads with regard to the other unknown perpetrators and those who ended up pocketing the money.
“[Kebede and Mohamed] picked up the cash, and the money went somewhere,” said Mathurin. “That loss, it’s tragic … It breaks my heart.”
Court heard that Kebede earned his high-school equivalency while remanded at the Saint John Regional Correctional Centre over the past several months.
“You’re smart,” the judge told the offender, adding that doesn’t jibe with his lack of awareness of what he was doing. “Well, let’s be smart.”
Trying to earn a quick, easy buck is not the way to go, Mathurin said.
The judge imposed the joint recommendation of a year in jail, reducing it to give Kebede the standard credit of 1½ days for every day spent on remand. However, that credit came to 359 days, meaning Kebede had only six days left to serve on his sentence Thursday.
Mathurin also placed him on probation for a year, during which Kebede is to have no contact with the victims.
She also issued standalone restitution orders for half of the amounts the victims lost. Those orders don’t require him to pay back the victims, but will allow them to secure judgments against Kebede in the future should he acquire the means.
When Mohamed was sentenced last week, another judge imposed standalone orders of restitution for the other half of the losses.
He was sentenced to 18 months for his role as the courier in the scam, less remand credit, but unlike Kebede, he pleaded not guilty and went through a trial.
Don MacPherson can be contacted at ftonindependent@gmail.com.
"Hopefully, the victims will eventually be able to put this behind them
Put those two back on the boat to thier homeland