MILLARVILLE: A Millarville duo accused of scamming more than $1.3 million from Albertans and British Columbians under the guise of high-return investments has reportedly been spotted in Kelowna.
Fernando Honorate de Silva Fagundes, 65, and Emilia Alas-As Elansin, 40 are wanted on a Canada-wide warrant issued at the end of November, following an investigation by the RCMP Integrated Market Enforcement Team (IMET).
Following additional reports of scam victims around inland B.C., Cpl. Deanna Fontaine with the Alberta RCMP said that information was pushed out to media outlets in the west, which circulated information on the suspects.
Shortly after publication, reports of sightings in and around the Kelowna area were made to RCMP.
"There's been a pattern of them travelling and making their way west across Canada," Fontaine said.
Fagundes and Elansin are facing charges of fraud over $5,000, theft over $5,000 and laundering proceeds crime.
"We do have concerns about identity theft of victims, as in the past, Fagundes had been in possession of a number of persons' identity documents," she said. "So, that continues to be a concern here."
The pair operated their scheme under the names Jovan and Janelle Cavallon, though Fagundes is known to have more than 11 different alias.'
Previous information provided by authorities described Fagundes as a 5-foot-9, 200-pound man with brown eyes and salt-and-pepper hair, and Elansin as a 5-foot-2, 160-pound woman with brown eyes and black hair.
If you have any information with respect to the whereabouts of either Fagundes or Elansin, or suspect yourself to be a victim of this particular scam, you are asked to contact IMET at 403-699-2434 or [email protected].
