Two men have been arrested and one remains outstanding after allegedly stealing Ontario Disability Support Program (ODSP) benefits from a victim in downtown Toronto last month, police say. The Toronto Police Service (TPS) responded to a robbery call on June 28 around 12:20 p.m. near Wellesley and Jarvis Streets.
According to police, the victim, a male who had just received his ODSP benefits on a pre-paid Visa card, attempted to access his funds at a gas station store. He was approached by a suspect who claimed to have a weapon, though none was seen, and forcibly took the victim’s prepaid card. After the victim demanded the return of his card, he was given a different card that had no funds.
Unbeknownst to the victim, the suspect observed him entering his PIN code, which was later used to withdraw money from the victim’s account. Unable to withdraw funds himself, the victim left the store, unaware that the card had been swapped.
Police later determined that this robbery was part of a larger scheme targeting ODSP clients, with multiple individuals involved in similar thefts.
Following an investigation, the 51 Division Major Crime Unit executed two Criminal Code search warrants on July 12, recovering “items of evidentiary value.” During the operation, two men, Wadia Khaled, 18, of Toronto, and Fadel Yazbak, 18, of Mississauga, were arrested. Both face charges of robbery with an offensive weapon, conspiracy to commit an indictable offence, and disguise with intent. They were scheduled to appear at the Toronto Regional Bail Centre on July 13.
A third suspect, 21-year-old Munir Al Mhmmed of Toronto, remains outstanding and is wanted for robbery with an offensive weapon and conspiracy to commit an indictable offence.
Toronto Police continue to investigate and encourage any potential victims of similar crimes to come forward.