Second man sentenced in credit card scam

Had fake licence, school ID

A second Calgary man has been sentenced in relation to a police investigation in Regina that turned up a number of fake credit cards and phoney identification.

Garrit Glen English, 21, appeared at Regina Provincial Court on Thursday by video link from the Regina jail, pleading guilty to fraudulent possession of a credit card, possession of a counterfeit driver’s licence and breaching a release condition that he not possess cards in a name other than his own.

Another man, 20-year-old Robert Jarrod Rogers, had pleaded guilty to a number of similar charges on Wednesday, at which time he received a 10-month conditional sentence. After hearing submissions on Thursday, Judge Anna Crugnale-Reid agreed to impose the same sentence on English. English’s sentence was jointly proposed by Crown prosecutor Melissa Schrader and defence lawyer Darren Kraushaar.

Terms of the sentence include that English live in Calgary with his parents and stay within a 100-kilometre radius of that location, follow a curfew, not patronize any Costco stores and not possess credit cards or identification in a name other than his own, among other conditions.

Court heard Rogers and another male — not English — had gone to Costco in Regina on Jan. 31, at which time Rogers tried to use a phoney credit card to buy a Costco membership. Staff there recognized him from a similar attempt a week or two prior and refused to provide the membership unless he returned with cash.

When the two males left, staff members followed them out to their rental vehicle and provided a description to police. Police located the vehicle at a Regina hotel where they arrested both men and a third, English.

During the arrest, English’s hat fell off, dumping a few items onto his lap and the floor — a New Jersey driver’s licence with his photo but a different name, a fake Visa and a phoney Harvard University identification card.

While English wasn’t sentenced in relation to the Costco fraud, Schrader took a moment to explain how far-reaching that particular scam is, noting police are investigating occurrences of it happening in locations from British Columbia to Ontario. The scam involves culprits using fake credit cards to get a membership, thereby allowing them to buy items using the fraudulent cards.

Kraushaar said there is no indication his client ever went to the Regina Costco or that he actually used the cards in his possession.

“He admits that this was a mistake …” Kraushaar said. “He accepts responsibility for that.”

Kraushaar told court his client said he suffers from bipolar disorder and post-traumatic stress disorder, the latter starting after the sudden death of his girlfriend.

The third man charged, 22-year-old Matthew John Stewart, is still before the court.