Canada Revenue Agency scam backfires, three from Brampton now face charges

Three Brampton men have been arrested for allegedly trying to extort money from an 80-year-old by using the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) scam.

Charged with extortion, conspiracy to commit an indictable offence and possession of property obtained by crime over $5,000 are 19-year-old Taranveer Singh, 19-year-old Ranveer Singh, and 21-year-old Chamanjyot Singh. All three are from Brampton.

York Regional Police say they uncovered the plot after finding out an 80-year-old woman received a phone call from someone claiming to be from the CRA.

The woman was instructed to withdraw $10,000 from the bank and to send it to an address in Brampton.

“The victim has told that if she didn’t pay she would be arrested,” said police in a released statement.

Aware of what was happening, police monitored the delivery and when a man arrived to pick up the package of money he was taken into custody. A follow-up investigation found that others were involved and additional arrests were made.

All the money was recovered and returned to the woman.

The three men arrested are expected to appear next month in a Newmarket courtroom.