Elliot Lake garage owner wanted for fraud arrested after more than a year on the lam

OPP cruiser file image.

A former garage owner in Elliot Lake has been arrested in Sault Ste. Marie, more than a year after he was wanted by police for numerous fraud and theft complaints.

The 52-year-old man was taken into custody Sept. 25 after a traffic stop by the Sault Ste. Marie Police Service.

"Police conducted a vehicle stop on Sept. 25 and learned the driver had numerous arrest warrants from East Algoma OPP," police said in a news release Tuesday.

Police received several complaints in September and October 2020 in relation to a person running a vehicle repair garage on Kilborn Way in Elliot Lake.

"Once police concluded the lengthy investigations, the person had already left town and arrest warrants were issued," police said.

OPP spokesperson Const. Phil Young said in an email that customers of the garage complained they couldn't get their vehicles returned on the dates promised, raising suspicions.

"(The suspect) had sold vehicles to customers and then not delivered the vehicle," Young said.

They also received reports the garage owner was using customer vehicles as personal vehicles and lending them to other customers without consent.

He is now charged with four counts of fraud under $5,000, two counts of motor vehicle theft, two counts of taking a motor vehicle without permission and one count of giving a customer a misleading receipt.

The accused is scheduled to appear before the Ontario Court of Justice in Elliot Lake on Oct. 11.