Elliot Lake garage owner wanted for fraud arrested after more than a year on the lam
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.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
More than 115 cases of eye damage reported in Ontario after solar eclipse
More than 115 people who viewed the solar eclipse in Ontario earlier this month experienced eye damage after the event, according to eye doctors in the province.
Last letters of pioneering climber who died on Everest reveal dark side of mountaineering
George Mallory is renowned for being one of the first British mountaineers to attempt to scale the dizzying heights of Mount Everest during the 1920s. Nearly a century later, newly digitized letters shed light on Mallory’s hopes and fears about ascending Everest.
Toxic testing standoff: Family leaves house over air quality
A Sherwood Park family says their new house is uninhabitable. The McNaughton's say they were forced to leave the house after living there for only a week because contaminants inside made it difficult to breathe.
Decoy bear used to catch man who illegally killed a grizzly, B.C. conservation officers say
A man has been handed a lengthy hunting ban and fined thousands of dollars for illegally killing a grizzly bear, B.C. conservation officers say.
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau on navigating post-political life, co-parenting and freedom
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says there is 'still so much love' between her and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as they navigate their post-separation relationship co-parenting their three children.
An emergency slide falls off a Delta Air Lines plane, forcing pilots to return to JFK in New York
An emergency slide fell off a Delta Air Lines jetliner shortly after takeoff Friday from New York, and pilots who felt a vibration in the plane circled back to land safely at JFK Airport.
B.C. seeks ban on public drug use, dialing back decriminalization
The B.C. NDP has asked the federal government to recriminalize public drug use, marking a major shift in the province's approach to addressing the deadly overdose crisis.
'I was scared': Ontario man's car repossessed after missing two repair loan payments
An Ontario man who took out a loan to pay for auto repairs said his car was repossessed after he missed two payments.
First court appearance for boy and girl charged in death of Halifax 16-year-old
A girl and a boy, both 14 years old, made their first appearance today in a Halifax courtroom, where they each face a second-degree murder charge in the stabbing death of a 16-year-old high school student.