Four men are facing charges in an alleged Richmond fraud ring, RCMP say.
Christopher Birkbeck, of Surrey, along with Michael Ridley from Ontario, Richard Yeltatzie of Richmond and Ayron Borovic of Vancouver are facing 24 charges that include fraud, forgery, possession of property obtained by crime and unauthorized possession of a firearm against one of the accused, according to a release from Richmond RCMP Cpl. Dennis Hwang.
Hwang said Richmond’s economic crime unit started its investigation in October of 2020 and, over several months, investigators collected evidence of fraud being committed by four people in multiple jurisdictions including Richmond, Vancouver, Surrey, Langley, Cranbrook, Kamloops, Kelowna and Regina.
That led to multiple search warrants at locations allegedly connected to the fraud ring in Richmond and Vancouver, Hwang noted.
Meantime, Yeltatzie is also facing other charges, including fraud, from an investigation dating back to February of 2020.
Hwang said in that case, officers were investigating a residence that was allegedly sold by fraudulent means “unbeknownst to the homeowner.” The BC Prosecution Service approved eight charges against Richard Yeltatzie and three against a Kieran Yeltatzie.
lauren.collins@surreynowleader.com
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