Victims of an alleged investment fraudster have now seen the net widen to cover the accused’s spouse. Does it signal the growing tenacity of provincial authorities?
Victims of an alleged investment fraudster have now seen the net widen to cover the accused’s spouse. Does it signal the growing tenacity of provincial authorities?
Jason Robert Laramee is a former resident of Oakville, Ontario. He was charged by Halton Regional Police in April 2013 on three counts of fraud over $5,000, three counts of possession of proceeds of crime and single counts of perjury and obstruction of justice according to a report by Canadian Press.
While the details of the alleged fraud are sketchy, the CP report suggests as many as 70 investors were bilked out of $11 million. Halton’s investigation took 12 months; the alleged fraud more than five years.
Here’s where the ex-wife gets involved. Renata Dawn Schumaker was married to Laramee between 2006 and 2012, the period when the alleged fraud took place.
Halton police laid charges against Schumaker Tuesday that include obtaining credit by fraud and fraud over $5,000. According to the allegations the couple obtained a line of credit loan from a financial institution ostensibly using false income claims to gain approval. In addition, Laramee allegedly claimed that Schumaker was a vice president with RBL Capital Corporation earning a VP-like salary. This is alleged to be false.
Detective Sargeant Troy Izlakar of the Halton Regional Police suggested Tuesday that the former couple worked together to perpetrate this fraud despite charges being laid against Schumaker almost two years later.
The lesson?
If you’re planning an elaborate investment fraud, you might want to assume that your spouse is going to be pulled into any police investigation that occurs should you be caught. Saying you didn’t know isn’t going to cut it.
Ring one up for the fraud squad. This won’t appease the 70 or so investors that were allegedly duped but it does remind criminals that they’re going to get caught – eventually.
Jason Robert Laramee is a former resident of Oakville, Ontario. He was charged by Halton Regional Police in April 2013 on three counts of fraud over $5,000, three counts of possession of proceeds of crime and single counts of perjury and obstruction of justice according to a report by Canadian Press.
While the details of the alleged fraud are sketchy, the CP report suggests as many as 70 investors were bilked out of $11 million. Halton’s investigation took 12 months; the alleged fraud more than five years.
Here’s where the ex-wife gets involved. Renata Dawn Schumaker was married to Laramee between 2006 and 2012, the period when the alleged fraud took place.
Halton police laid charges against Schumaker Tuesday that include obtaining credit by fraud and fraud over $5,000. According to the allegations the couple obtained a line of credit loan from a financial institution ostensibly using false income claims to gain approval. In addition, Laramee allegedly claimed that Schumaker was a vice president with RBL Capital Corporation earning a VP-like salary. This is alleged to be false.
Detective Sargeant Troy Izlakar of the Halton Regional Police suggested Tuesday that the former couple worked together to perpetrate this fraud despite charges being laid against Schumaker almost two years later.
The lesson?
If you’re planning an elaborate investment fraud, you might want to assume that your spouse is going to be pulled into any police investigation that occurs should you be caught. Saying you didn’t know isn’t going to cut it.
Ring one up for the fraud squad. This won’t appease the 70 or so investors that were allegedly duped but it does remind criminals that they’re going to get caught – eventually.
