Used-car dealer faces 26 counts of fraud
Brent Hayward Stewart, 49, of Burton, charged after lengthy probe by RCMP’s financial crimes unit into customer complaints at now-defunct DMR Auto Sales in Fredericton
A Burton man is facing allegations of fraud and theft stemming from his work in used-car sales in Fredericton three years ago.
The RCMP’s financial crimes unit laid 26 counts of indictable fraud Thursday against Brent Hayward Stewart, 49, the force said in a news release.
“In 2021, police received a number of reports of possible frauds that occurred at DMR Auto Sales between January 2020 and September 2021,” the release said.
“The fraud involved customers trading in vehicles that still had an outstanding balance remaining on them.”
The RCMP said the investigation indicated those trade-ins were then sold to new owners without the balance being paid off, the release said, which meant the original owners had to make payments on both their previous and new-to-them vehicles.
The investigation led to the arrests of a 49-year-old man and a 52-year-old woman Nov. 21, but they were subsequently released, the RCMP reported.
The newly filed fraud charges allege values of more than $5,000 for each count.
Stewart is also accused of one count of theft of a value in excess of $5,000, the release said.
He’s scheduled to appear in provincial court Tuesday, it said, and the investigation is ongoing.
The RCMP announced its investigation into transactions at DMR Auto Sales - which was located at the then-border between Fredericton and Richibucto Road, commonly known as Pepper Creek. That area has since been absorbed into the capital as part of a recent amalgamation.
DMR Auto Sales - which was formally registered as Auto Pride Ltd. - closed not long after the police investigation began.
Stewart was named as a perpetrator of impugned transactions at the business in a civil lawsuit filed by Pepper Creek residents Craig and Marie-Claude Wedge in February 2022.
The lawsuit was discontinued in the fall of that year.
Don MacPherson can be contacted at ftonindependent@gmail.com.
Can’t wait to hear what happens on Tuesday