Mounties seize $100,000 of fraudulently purchased flooring

RCMP have stopped a scammer who has defrauded several businesses of their products.

On July 5, Mounties in Kelowna received a report of a possible scam involving a person purchasing a large quantity of hardwood flooring using fake identification and a stolen credit card.

A man going by the name “Steven Brown” purchased approximately $30,000 in hardwood flooring from Kelowna Floors to be shipped across the country.

As per company policy, the purchaser was required to present a copy of his ID, and when he did the business owner became suspicious and contacted the RCMP, who confirmed the identification was fraudulent.

Through his industry contacts, the business owner learned the fraudster had also purchased $25,000 of product at Express Flooring and had spent another $25,000 at Dannburg Flooring.

Police were notified of the scheduled pickup at Kelowna Floors set for July 7 and, as it has been determined the purchase was fraudulent, police attended and intercepted a freight company that came to collect the product.

The driver and passenger of the freight vehicle were arrested but later released as it was believed they had no knowledge of the offences.

During the interception police seized approximately $100,000 in flooring also believed to be obtained fraudulently from retailers in Richmond, Kamloops and Salmon Arm.

The vehicle was scheduled to transport the flooring to Quebec on July 10 with additional stops and pickups before making the cross country journey. The other businesses scheduled to have flooring picked up were notified of the fraud.

“This is a textbook example why stores should have internal policies as it relates to high value purchases using credit cards, especially over the phone” Cpl. Michael Gauthier of the Kelowna RCMP’s Media Relations Unit said.

“Thanks to an observant store owner and cooperation from a few others, we recovered and likely prevented another handful of high value fraudulent purchases. We rely heavily on the professionals in our community to identify when something doesn’t feel right, and in return only ask that they reach out for our help when it doesn’t.”

Local police, working with partners across the country as necessary, continue to investigate this case.