Police arrest male for defrauding five elderly individuals

24-24358

An investigation which commenced in July 2024 has led to the arrest of an individual after it was discovered he had defrauded multiple individuals for a total of $150,000.

The accused invented several sympathetic stories to induce the victims into loaning him money. These stories included supporting a woman and her family fleeing intimate partner violence and a lawsuit to win his deceased veteran son’s life insurance benefits. 

In two cases, the financial obligations stretched the victims to the point that they were evicted from their apartments once they were unable to pay their rent.

In all these cases, after being defrauded the victims had been falsely convinced that the suspect had since died.

Lionel BERNIER, a 74-year-old resident of Kingston, was arrested on December 17, 2024, after a search warrant was executed on his residence. BERNIER is charged with five counts of Fraud Exceeding $5,000. Bernier was transported to Kingston Police headquarters where he was held for a bail hearing and subsequently remanded into custody to appear in court at a later date.

Anyone with information regarding these investigations or anyone who believes they may have had contact with Bernier is asked to contact Detective Constable Anthony Hampton at 613-549-4660, Ext. 6438 or via email at ahampton@kingstonpolice.ca