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13 | O akville B eaver | T hursday,S eptem ber 23,2021 insidehalton.com A 21-year-old Oakville woman is among several people charged in connection with a series of alleged frauds related to a romance scam operating in Burlington. In October and November 2020, a senior victim was contacted by a person claiming to be a retired Ca- nadian army sergeant named Dar- ren Michaelson, and began an on- line romantic relationship. Over a number of weeks, the vic- tim was defrauded of more than $150,000 after sending money to per- sons they believed were assisting Michaelson with legal troubles and assistance returning to Canada. The Oakville woman is charged with fraud over $5,000, possession of property obtained by crime over $5,000 and laundering the proceeds of crime. Also arrested and charged are a 38-year-old female from London, charged with fraud over $5,000; a 36-year-old Toronto male, charged with fraud under $5,000; a 35-year- old male of Toronto, charged with fraud over $5,000, possession of property obtained by crime over $5,000 and laundering the proceeds of crime; and a 28-year-old male of Toronto, charged with fraud over $5,000 and laundering the proceeds of crime. Further arrests are anticipated, and police believe there may be ad- ditional victims. Police would like to remind resi- dents of the danger and frequency of these types of scams and to not send money or gift cards to persons you have not met in person. Do not provide personal information such as financial documents, identifica- tion or passwords when communi- cating online. Anyone with information re- garding this investigation is asked to contact Detective Constable De- rek Gray of the Burlington Crimi- nal Investigations Bureau, Seniors Liaison Team at 905-825-4747, ext. 2344. Tips can also be submitted anonymously to Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 (TIPS) or through the web at www.haltoncrimestopper- s.ca. LOCAL WOMAN CHARGED IN ROMANCE SCAM KATHY YANCHUS kyanchus@metroland.com NEWS