Three men have been arrested in connection with an ongoing "romance and investment Ponzi scheme" operating in York Region.
Police began investigating the scheme in April, 2014, when a victim reported that a man she had befriended at a bar in Aurora had convinced her to invest money with him. Police said she gave the man more than $50,000, which was transferred into various accounts the man provided.
Once the money was transferred, the suspect could no longer be reached, police said.
York Regional Police said the man told the victim he could generate significant short-term returns for her investment.
Officers launched an investigation into the incident, and soon realized that several other people had been scammed. In January, officers charged a man and woman in connection with the case.
At the time, police said there were eight female victims who had lost approximately $400,000.
On Friday, police announced that three more men had been charged, and that they had discovered 12 more female victims. Altogether, the 20 women had lost approximately $1.2 million, officers said in a statement.
Police said 37-year-old Yiaoming Liang, 47-year-old Shafin Damji and 32-year-old Ansari Farhan face numerous charges in connection with the incident.
Salim Damji, 45, was charged with several fraud-related charges in January. On Friday, police said he is also facing charges of forgery and providing a false statement in writing.
Tatiana Krainova, 39, was charged with similar offences in January.
Police believe there may be more victims.
Anyone with more information is asked to contact officers at 1-866-876-5423, ext. 6671, or Crime Stoppers anonymously at 1-800-222-8477 (TIPS).
