A man and woman from Ajax, Lakshanth Selvarajah, 27, and Akshayah Tharmakulenthiran, 25, are facing a total of 40 charges in connection with an alleged fraud scheme targeting vulnerable seniors in the Durham Region.
The investigation, led by Durham Regional Police’s financial crimes unit with assistance from York Regional Police, culminated in the pair’s arrest on April 4. Authorities report that victims, including a 90-year-old couple, received phone calls from individuals impersonating banking and credit card representatives, convincing them their accounts had been compromised.
Following these deceptive calls, couriers were dispatched to the victims’ homes to collect their bank cards and passwords, which were then used to make fraudulent purchases.
Selvarajah faces an extensive list of charges, including six counts of credit card theft, three counts of fraud over $5,000, and eight counts of unauthorized use of credit card data. Tharmakulenthiran is charged with two counts of fraud over $5,000 and four counts of unauthorized credit card use.
Investigators are concerned that there may be additional victims and have released images of the accused to assist in their inquiries.
