A Saanich man who was arrested and charged with 14 counts of fraud in June has once again been arrested, this time in Colwood.
In June, 29-year-old Brodie Brooks was arrested in Saanich and charged with 14 counts of fraud, and one count each of false pretense and personating a peace officer.
At the time, Saanich Police said the investigation into Brooks had begun in the fall of 2019. Police allege that Brooks would ask people on dating apps for financial assistance with the promise to pay them back. When they would ask to be repaid, Brooks would stop responding.
This continued over three years.
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Now, CHEK News has been sent photos of Brooks being arrested on Wednesday on the grounds of the West Shore Parks and Recreation Centre in Colwood.
West Shore RCMP says he has been charged with criminal harassment, and according to BC CSO the incident occurred in View Royal. He appeared in court on Thursday and was released.
The Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre says romance scams are when a scammer builds a relationship with you either over email or social media and dating sites. After building a relationship, the scammer then asks for money using various excuses.
The centre says to look out for the following red flags:
- when someone you haven’t met in person professes their love to you
- if the person wants to quickly move to a private or different mode of communication (email, text, Whatsapp, Google Hangouts etc.)
- if they always have an excuse not to meet in person
- if you receive poorly/oddly written messages, sometimes even addressing you by the wrong name
- if the individual claims to live close to you but is working overseas
- if they act distressed or angry to guilt you into sending money
- if the individual discourages you from discussing them or their situation with your friends and family (attempting to isolate you from those who may be suspicious of the relationship)
-With files from CHEK’s Oli Herrera, Hannah Lepine
Laura Brougham
