Windsor Police have begun their annual deployment at Devonshire Mall to assist with the busy holiday shopping season, and have already stopped a fraud operation.
Police say that around 10am on Tuesday, December 5th, 2017 mall officers were notified of a suspicious transaction.
Information was received that a male and female attended guest services. The male indicated he was from Toronto and purchased a large sum of mall gift cards using a credit card. He stated the cards were gifts for his relatives. A few minutes late the female suspect returned to the information booth and attempted to purchase a large amount of mall gift cards, but was denied due to the ID card she provided was expired.
Furthermore it was found out that the vast majority of the gift cards that the male purchased had just been used at a store in the mall and were subsequently fraudulent.
Officers located the subject male and the investigation revealed that the credit card he had used to purchase the gift cards had been altered, and that he was already bound by court orders not to possess a credit card. He was arrested without incident. After his arrest officers found him to be in possession of 14 grams of suspected methamphetamine.
Officers continued to work with mall security and located the involved female. The investigation revealed that she had used a false name when she attempted to purchase gift cards, and she too was currently bound by a court order not to possess a credit card. She was arrested without incident.
Irwin Buenaventura, a 38-year-old male from Toronto, is charged with fraud under $5000, breach recognizance, breach probation and possession of a controlled substance – suspected methamphetamine.
Michelle Matheson, a 30-year-old female from Toronto, is charged with fraud under $5000, fraudulent personation, and breach probation.
