Claresholm RCMP have now charged a 39-year-old woman after she and another man allegedly pretended to be Fort McMurray residents fleeing the wildfires and accepted charity from residents.
On May 12, 2016, RCMP were first notified of the couple, who are originally from Victoria, but were fraudulently posing as residents of Fort McMurray for the sole purpose of eliciting help from the residents of Claresholm.
Three days later, police laid charges against Darryl Lincoln Joseph Rondeau.
Rondeau was charged with one count of fraud under $5,000. He has already pleaded guilty to the charge.
On May 24, 2016, police charged Jaime Lynn Cox, 39, with five counts of fraud under $5,000.
Cox has been released on conditions.
Authorities at the time the charges were laid against Rondeau said that disasters bring out the best and worst in humanity.
“With these situations, there’s always some person out there willing to exploit the good nature of others,” said Sgt. Barry Larocque of the RCMP K Division. “The people that are perpetrating frauds in those locales know what they’re doing and can say the right thing and make themselves appear to be what they are not.”
Cox is expected to appear in court on June 1.
