GUELPH – The Crown has dropped a fraud charge against a Guelph man in connection with a local grandparent scam.
Wellington OPP arrested Guelph residents Efeson Tesfaalem Teklehaymanot, 20, and a then-17-year-old who cannot be named under the Youth Criminal Justice Act, in connection with the scam last year.
Teklehaymanot, now 21, was charged with defrauding Fergus senior George Fraser of $8,500 on March 2, 2023.
Fraser spoke to the Advertiser about his experience last year, and was able to figure out he was in the midst of a scam before handing over the $8,500 in cash.
The Crown had chosen to prosecute the charge as a more serious indictable offence, which carries the potential for a maximum sentence of 14 years, though maximums are rarely imposed.
On April 12 prosecutor Palak Mehta withdrew the charge on behalf of the Crown because there was no “reasonable prospect of conviction.”
Ministry of Attorney General spokesperson Keesha Seaton wrote in an email the Crown is “duty bound to discontinue a prosecution if there is no reasonable prospect of conviction, or if it is not in the public interest to proceed.”
Seaton did not explain what led the Crown to believe a conviction couldn’t be secured.
The Advertiser is unable to report on the youth also charged in connection with the grandparent scam because of protections under the Youth Criminal Justice Act restricting access to youth court records.
