Scam victim tormented by shame, court hears
Terrified for her grandson’s safety, woman who forked over $18,000 to fraudsters was trying to withdraw $36,000 more when bank official redirected her to police
A Fredericton woman whom Montreal fraudsters fleeced for $18,000 told a court this week her life is forever changed, and she feels ashamed, isolated and stupid for falling victim to the scam.
Saleh Abdullah Mohamed, 30, of rue Guy in Montreal, was found guilty after trial last week of seven instances of fraud and one attempted fraud perpetrated in Fredericton and surrounding communities in late August.
Court heard the scam consisted of someone calling elderly targets purporting to be a grandchild or other loved one in desperate need of help, claiming they’d been detained by police after a car accident or incident involving drugs.
In total, the scam netted $78,000 from the seven victims listed in the fraud charges, court heard.
Mohamed was back before Judge Natalie LeBlanc on Monday for a sentencing hearing.
Court first heard from Susan MacKenzie, the daughter of victim Enid Beckwith, 82, a Fredericton woman who was one of Mohamed’s victims. Beckwith wasn’t available for Monday’s proceedings, so her daughter attended to read her victim-impact statement to the court.
Court heard Beckwith received a call from one of the scammers, who passed himself off as her grandson, told her he’d been a passenger in a car and the driver was found to have drugs in his possession.
The scammer told her he needed money to get released from custody, MacKenzie said.
It turned out that the “grandson’s” parents were out of the country at the time, court heard, and Beckwith couldn’t reach anyone else.
“When this happened, I was fearful for my grandson’s safety because he had just recently moved out of province,” Beckwith wrote in her statement.
She emptied her savings and chequing accounts and gave $18,000 to someone who came to her home to pick up the envelope containing the cash. Mohamed turned out to be that courier.
Bank official intervened
After that money was handed over, the scammer called back, Beckwith wrote in her statement, claiming something else had gone wrong and more money - $36,000 - was needed to get her “grandson” sprung.
The victim, who lives on a fixed income, wrote she went to her bank to cash in her RRSP, but a bank official with whom she was dealing felt something was amiss and directed her to talk to police.
Beckwith reported she now feels anxious, isolated and ashamed as a result of the scammers’ crime against her, and the loss of so much of her savings has severely hampered her quality of life.
She said she worries people will find out about “the stupid thing I did.”
Crown prosecutor Gwynne Hearn said the victim-impact statement demonstrates the lasting and harmful effects the scammers have had on Beckwith and others, not only financially but emotionally as well.
It’s clear from the evidence that Mohamed and another player awaiting sentencing in the case - Manasseh (MK) Kebede, 20, also of Montreal - weren’t the driving forces behind the fraud ring, and that’s to be considered in sentencing as well.
“They were not the masterminds of this scheme,” she said, adding they played integral roles all the same.
While Mohamed initially pleaded guilty, Hearn said, his unwillingness to admit he was wilfully blind to what was going on forced a trial. Though the victims didn’t have to testify, she said, the trial was nevertheless stressful for them.
While the defendant has lost the mitigation of guilty pleas, the prosecutor said, there is one factor in his favour - the lack of a prior criminal record.
Hearn recommended a jail sentence of 18-20 months, less credit for time served on remand.
She also asked the court to issue a standalone order for restitution. While that wouldn’t be a requirement to pay the victims back, it could be used in civil court to get a judgment against Mohamed that could be enforced if he ever has the means to pay back his share of the cash.
Defence seeks sentence reduction
Defence lawyer Ben Reentovich said price his client could pay for his crimes goes beyond what happens in provincial court.
He explained Mohamed - who’s originally from Eritrea - is in a unique situation regarding his immigration status.
Reentovich said while the offender was denied refugee status upon his arrival in Canada from the United States, he was deemed “a protected person.” That means his convictions don’t automatically trigger a deportation, but rather a review. It remains to be seen, he said, if Mohamed will be allowed to remain in Canada after his release from jail.
A Canada Border Services Agency official was in court monitoring the proceedings Monday.
If he gets to stay, Reentovich said, Mohamed plans to move to Ontario, where he has family, to start over and get away from any potentially negative influences he encountered in Montreal.
The defence lawyer argued his client should still get some mitigation consideration for the fact that the trial was limited in scope and didn’t require victims to testify.
“It’s hard for a layperson to express wilful blindness,” Reentovich said.
He said the case is an unusual one and presents challenges to the court, as it concerns serious crimes but committed by a perpetrator with a lesser role in them who reaped no benefits from his actions.
“It’s a difficult case to sentence,” the defence lawyer said, describing his client as “a minor player at a low end of involvement.”
Reentovich recommended a jail term of 12 months, less credit for time served on remand.
Mohamed has been in custody since Aug. 25 - just shy of eight months - so once the customary 1.5-to-one remand credit is applied, that would mean he’s served the equivalent of about 11 months already.
However, Reentovich asked the court to consider an additional sentence reduction of three months due to a failure by the criminal justice system.
The law says someone who’s been remanded pending the outcome of a criminal case is entitled to an automatic bail review in the Court of King’s Bench after three months, he said, and that didn’t happen in Mohamed’s case.
This happens all the time, Reentovich said, and the courts need to address it by treating it as a mitigating factor in sentencing.
“I don’t know why these 90-day reviews are not happening,” he said. “This lack of a 90-day review is a systemic issue.”
Hearn argued a three-month reduction is too much for what amounts to a procedural issue.
“In the Crown’s perspective, there’s no breach before the court,” she said.
Letter of remorse
Mohamed apologized for his actions, but he also filed a handwritten letter with the court. While it wasn't read aloud during Monday's sentencing hearing, the Fredericton Independent obtained a copy from the court.
"I am sorry for everything in my life and for family," he wrote.
"I am sorry for everything that happened that has put me in the wrong place."
When he committed the crimes, he "was falling down," he wrote.
"I am now learning my lesson," the letter stated. "I am not going back to jail. I am going to change my life for the better. I will not keep returning to jail."
Mohamed thanked the police, his lawyer and the judge.
He told court he hopes to relocate to Kitchener, Ont., and to go to college.
LeBlanc reserved her decision on sentence, in part because the court found there was a victim-impact statement that wasn’t requested when it should’ve been. That other victim has the right to have his say, she said, so she adjourned the sentencing hearing to April 17 so it could be filed.
At that time, the Crown and defence will have an opportunity to respond to it if necessary, the judge said, and the court can consider it in crafting Mohamed’s sentence.
LeBlanc remanded Mohamed again until that time.
Kebede - who pleaded guilty in February to the same eight charges for which Mohamed was convicted - is scheduled to be sentenced April 20, and he remains in custody until that time as well.
Don MacPherson can be contacted at ftonindependent@gmail.com.
Should automatically be DEPORTED!!! The defense lawyer was quoted as saying, "The offender was denied refugee status upon his arrival in Canada from the United States, he was deemed “a protected person.” That means his convictions don’t automatically trigger a deportation, but rather a review. It remains to be seen, if Mohamed will be allowed to remain in Canada after his release from jail. Canada protects him and he has the nerve to do this to our people....Send him back!! He is obviously just taking up space!
These people do not deserve to be left with these physiological damages!
I am ashamed that you would share this when the victim clearly stated they were worried people would find out. I know this is your job but shame on you.