Alleged Burnaby bank card fraudster facing 16 charges

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A 26-year-old man has been charged with 16 offences in connection to a Burnaby RCMP investigation into a bank card scam.

Yeral Jauvin Varona has been charged with six counts of identity theft, six counts of fraud under $5,000, one count of fraud over $5,000, two counts of identity fraud and one count of “disguise face with intent,” Burnaby RCMP said in a news release Thursday.

The charges stem from an investigation that began roughly a year ago.

In late February 2024, Mounties said they had received three reports of a new bank card scam targeting seniors in the city, with two of the victims losing thousands of dollars each.

• Read more: Burnaby RCMP warning about new bank card scam

The victims reported getting a phone call from a person pretending to be a representative of a bank, who said the person’s card had been compromised and the bank would be sending someone to the victim’s home to pick up the card and investigate.

Almost immediately, a suspect arrived at the victim’s door to collect the cards, police said at the time.

Police said investigators from the Burnaby RCMP Prolific Offender Suppression Team were able to link the scam to “several other reports.”

The B.C. Prosecution Service approved the charges against Jauvin Varona on Jan. 2, Burnaby RCMP said, adding that he “has strict court-imposed conditions.”

Police did not explicitly state that Jauvin Varona had been released, but online court records indicate he is not in custody.

All of Jauvin Varona’s offences are alleged to have occurred in Burnaby, according to court records, with offence dates mostly spanning the last week of February 2024.

The accused’s next appearance is scheduled for Feb. 13 at Vancouver provincial court.

“While we’ve moved this investigation to the court system, it is important to note that this type of scam is still occurring in the Lower Mainland,” said Cpl. Mike Kalanj, in the release.

“We are asking the public to share this information in an effort to reduce the likelihood of more people becoming victims of fraud.”

Burnaby RCMP noted that the Richmond detachment issued a public alert about the same scam occurring in that city just last week.

• Read more: 3 more reports of bank card scam under investigation, Richmond RCMP say