Submitted by Sgt. P.A. Penny Stettler RCMP
On September 8, 2017 Stettler RCMP were alerted to a possible fraud in which individuals had arranged to purchase about $18,000 worth of tires from the Stettler Kal-Tire using a fraudulent money order.
Due to the efforts of an alert employee, Kal-Tire was able to confirm the money order was fake then contacted police who were able to arrest two individuals responsible for the attempted fraud.
Twenty-nine year old Claudia Navarrete has been charged with Fraud, and will attend court on September 12 in Red Deer.
Thirty-three year old Chad Wandler has been charged with Uttering a Forged Document, Fraud and other charges out of Innisfail related to this incident, and will attend court on September 14 in Stettler.
Both subjects have been remanded into custody pending their respective court appearances.
Recovered at the scene of this incident was a trailer valued at $6,000 that was determined to have been fraudulently purchased using a stolen credit card. The owner of the trailer was notified and corresponding charges have been laid.
Stettler RCMP commends the efforts of the employee involved in preventing the business from potentially losing $18,000 worth of product and would like to remind the business community of the following:
Be wary of transactions that are arranged over the phone. It’s reasonable to have the individual present with proper photo ID to ensure the transaction is legitimate.
Be willing to slow down a transaction to ensure it’s authenticity. In this instance, a money order was used that appeared to be fraudulent so the employee took steps to determine if that was the case. His suspicions were confirmed and he called the police immediately.