Toronto police seize $500K worth of fake gift cards from 'sophisticated forgery lab'
Three Richmond Hill residents have been arrested after police seized $500,000 in fake gift cards from a “sophisticated forgery lab” while searching multiple local properties last month.
In a news release issued Thursday, investigators allege that between July 2022 and January 2023, three people operated a “sophisticated” forgery lab in which they altered and manufactured fraudulent gift cards.
On Jan. 25, police officers executed search warrants at a Toronto business and a Richmond Hill residence in which they seized a “vast” amount of fraudulent gift cards valued at approximately $500,000, along with computer equipment and electronics used for manufacturing fake documents.
In photos of the seized goods provided by TPS, the gift cards appear to be from brands such as Sephora, Amazon, Moxies, Gap, Starbucks, Xbox, and Canadian Tire, among others.
The same day, officers arrested three people in connection with the investigation.
Richmond Hill residents Iouri Perett, 38, and Vitalii Fokov, 35, were each charged with one count of fraud over $5,000, one count of dealing in altered gift cards, and one count of possession of proceeds obtained by crime.
Another Richmond Hill resident, 34-year-old Elizaveta Perett, was charged with one count of possession of proceeds obtained by crime.
Handout by the Toronto Police Service (TPS)
The three are scheduled to appear in court at Old City Hall in Toronto on March 10 at 11 a.m.
Police are asking anyone with additional information to contact them at 416-808-7300, or Crime Stoppers at 416-222-TIPS (8477), or at www.222tips.com.
Gift card scams have been prevalent across Ontario in recent years.
Last year, an Oakville resident purchased $800 in gift cards that turned out to have no value. It took about six months, many calls to Petro Canada, and contacting CTV News Toronto before he received a refund.
Gift cards are a billion-dollar business and while the vast majority of them are given and received without any issues, there are a growing number of cases where gift cards that are legitimately purchased have no value.
Handout by the Toronto Police Service (TPS)
With files from CTV News Toronto's Pat Foran
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
Northern Ont. lawyer who abandoned clients in child protection cases disbarred
A North Bay, Ont., lawyer who abandoned 15 clients – many of them child protection cases – has lost his licence to practise law.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Maple Leafs fall to Bruins in Game 3, trail series 2-1
Brad Marchand scored twice, including the winner in the third period, and added an assist as the Boston Bruins downed the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-2 to take a 2-1 lead in their first-round playoff series Wednesday
Cuban government apologizes to Montreal-area family after delivering wrong body
Cuba's foreign affairs minister has apologized to a Montreal-area family after they were sent the wrong body following the death of a loved one.
'It was instant karma': Viral video captures failed theft attempt in Nanaimo, B.C.
Mounties in Nanaimo, B.C., say two late-night revellers are lucky their allegedly drunken antics weren't reported to police after security cameras captured the men trying to steal a heavy sign from a downtown business.
What is changing about Canada's capital gains tax and how does it impact me?
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
New Indigenous loan guarantee program a 'really big deal,' Freeland says at Toronto conference
Canada's Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland was among the 1,700 delegates attending the two-day First Nations Major Projects Coalition (FNMPC) conference that concluded Tuesday in Toronto.
'Life was not fair to him': Daughter of N.B. man exonerated of murder remembers him as a kind soul
The daughter of a New Brunswick man recently exonerated from murder, is remembering her father as somebody who, despite a wrongful conviction, never became bitter or angry.