Ontario women get house arrest for role in scamming Manitoba seniors out of nearly $90K
Woman targeted by scammers says she 'felt sick' after learning she was cheated out of retirement savings
Two Ontario women have been sentenced to house arrest for their part in a scheme that swindled nine elderly Manitoba victims out of nearly $90,000.
Gabriel Edith Marie Paradis, now 27, from Wallaceburg, Ont., was handed a year-long conditional sentence order in a Winnipeg courtroom on Tuesday, the second of the two women given jointly recommended sentences in what's known as a grandparent scam carried out in the summer of 2022.
In May, co-accused Vanessa Fatima Alves Dasilva, 20, from Toronto's North York region, was given an 18-month conditional sentence order to be followed by a year of unsupervised probation, after the two women pleaded guilty to charges including fraud.
The scam involved an unknown man calling elderly victims out of the blue and claiming to be their grandson, saying that he'd been arrested and needed money for bail.
Crown attorney Peter Edgett described the women's role in the scam as acting as "money mules," who would pick up the cash from the homes of the unsuspecting seniors, who had been instructed to put the money in an envelope with what the scammers called a "file number" marked on it.
Edgett said the scammers often relayed an element of needing to "keep things hush-hush," which stopped the victims from telling anyone about it until the money was gone.
In one case, a woman targeted by the scheme went to her bank and got out $9,000 in $100 bills, which was then picked up by Paradis.
In another, Alves Dasilva picked up cash from a couple who were told their grandson needed $11,000 for bail after he caused a crash while texting and driving that sent a pregnant woman to hospital. The scammers on the phone in that case knew details about the couple's real grandson, including that he played hockey and what position he played, court heard.
Another woman, a retired nurse who was scammed into handing over $7,500, said in a victim impact statement the incident affected her trust and left her "emotionally stunned."
The woman, whom CBC News can't name because of a publication ban, said in an interview that she couldn't think straight when the scammers called and said her family member was about to go to jail unless she gave them money.
"I was upset with myself. I was angry. I felt used," the woman said. "Everything is done very, very efficiently and very fast, so you don't have time to think or phone anyone or do anything."
The woman said she was distraught and "felt sick" after learning later from police that she had been cheated out of her retirement savings.
Police eventually got a search warrant for an Airbnb rental on Winnipeg's Somerville Avenue, where the women who picked up the money were staying. They found several envelopes of cash with numbers marked on them under a mattress, court heard.
While the seniors targeted in the scam got most of their money back, provincial court Judge Julie Frederickson said the victims still live with the shock of what happened.
"The emotional impact — the feeling perhaps of embarrassment, of falling for this sort of scam, and having their confidence shaken and their family's confidence shaken — are implications that go well beyond just the money," Frederickson said.
Court heard the two women played relatively minor roles in the operation, and it's still unknown who was behind the scam.
Accused were vulnerable
Both women convicted in the case were described in court as vulnerable and in need of money, which led to their involvement in the scam.
"How these scams work is you've got some people that are sophisticated at the top who are getting all of this information, targeting individuals, and then insulating themself with people like the accused, who … find themselves in a situation where they're desperate for money and basically [are] prepared to take all the risk," prosecutor Edgett said Tuesday.
Paradis's lawyer, Franco Aiello, said his client had a "tumultuous" childhood, with parents who struggled with substance abuse issues and were in and out of jail. Paradis now also struggles with addictions but has expressed a "sincere interest" in getting treatment, the lawyer said.
"Clearly, Ms. Paradis is not the head of this organization. She's not the kingpin, she's not the one who was leading the charge, so to speak, in terms of this criminal organization. It seems like it's very sophisticated, it's very predatory," Aiello said.
When asked if she wanted to speak, Paradis — who appeared virtually in the Winnipeg courtroom from Ontario — apologized for her actions and said she was trying her best to stay away from drugs. She added she thought including drug treatment as one of the conditions of her sentence was a good idea.
During Alves Dasilva's sentencing in May, court heard the now 20-year-old had a traumatic upbringing and mental health issues. She got involved in the scam at a time she was struggling to find work, and was contacted by someone she didn't know on social media who asked if she wanted to make some money.
"These people found her when she was in a low spot, and desperate and vulnerable," lawyer Jason Poettcker said.
Alves Dasilva, who was also ordered to complete 100 hours of community service and pay restitution to some of the victims, expressed remorse and spoke through tears when given the chance to address court.
"I have a grandma too that passed away, and if anybody did this to my grandma I'd be going crazy, so I understand the impact that it had on everybody," she said.
"I wish I could do something to take the trauma away that these people have because of what I did…. I wish I could go back in time and not do it."
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With files from Edzi'u Loverin