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Two men face forgery charges

Two Guelph men face forgery charges in vehicle transaction.
20160202 Guelph Police Service Car KA
FILE PHOTO Kenneth Armstrong/GuelphToday

When the license plates on a vehicle are in your name but you have never seen or owned such a vehicle, you may be the victim of identity fraud. Two men face forgery charges in just such a case in Guelph.

In late January, Guelph Police looked into a complaint about an improperly plated car. The complainant said he had no knowledge of a 2003 Mitsubishi that was plated in his name.  

Guelph Police took the investigation a few steps further, tracing back through the vehicle’s history to find an ownership transfer linked to a Guelph used car dealership. The transfer happened in Dec., 2014 in the name of the complainant, but without their knowledge.

The next step on the part of police was to carry out a search warrant on the local dealership, at which time documents were seized. Among those was a contract and a photograph of photo ID belonging to the complainant.  

According to a Guelph Police press release the sales contract was signed both by a salesperson at the dealership and by the buyer of the vehicle. The buyer, however, was not the person on the photo ID, but someone using the name and ID fraudulently. Police allege that a signature was forged at the time of the purchase.

Kyle Winters, 29, of Guelph has been charged with forgery and uttering a forged document, while Sohail Khan, 58, of Guelph, an employee of the dealership, has been charged with forgery and uttering a forged document.

The two men are scheduled to appear in court in April.

Guelph Police spokesperson Mike Gatto indicated on Monday that this particular type of fraud is not common in Guelph. 


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Rob O'Flanagan

About the Author: Rob O'Flanagan

Rob O’Flanagan has been a newspaper reporter, photojournalist and columnist for over twenty years. He has won numerous Ontario Newspaper Awards and a National Newspaper Award.
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