A network of loan and scholarship fraudsters has been dismantled by the Sûreté du Québec after a lengthy investigation. The accomplices allegedly attempted to defraud the state of more than three million dollars through a scheme to embezzle financial aid for study abroad.
The leader of this network would be Jordyson Telfort, a 28-year-old resident of Boucherville. He faces charges of defrauding the Quebec government and forging false documents between 2017 and 2021. He is also accused of assault, assault with a weapon and threats against two men, according to the arrest warrant issued Dec. 5 at the Montreal courthouse.
Eight men and one woman were arrested across Quebec and Ontario on Wednesday by the Economic Crimes Investigation Service of the Sûreté du Québec. The co-accused are Bernard Fortin of Pont-Rouge, Jonathan Maurice Koud Ondon of Toronto, Mik Côté of Quebec, Olivier Marchessault of Mirabel, Lévi Londole of Lasalle, Jonathan Lacroix of Sainte-Claire, Jacob Telfort of Montreal and Stéphanie Casseus of Saint-Lambert
According to the SQ thesis, the network had a pyramid model. The leader of the network thus recruited students, who then recruited other students. The latter then applied for government funding to study abroad.
However, the students’ co-conspirators never stayed abroad and passed on part of the fraudulently obtained loans and scholarships to the mastermind behind the network. The accomplices did not know each other when everything went through their heads. There was also a cell in Montreal and another in Quebec. They allegedly started this scheme in August 2017.
“The total amount of fraud, including attempts to obtain loans and scholarships, amounts to more than three million dollars,” the SQ said in a press release. However, the amount that was actually defrauded was not specified by the police.
The nine accused will appear on 1eh February 2023 at the courthouse in Montreal.
The alleged mastermind, Jordyson Telford, is charged with fraud and identity fraud in a separate case. Charges filed in December 2021 at the Montreal courthouse.