East Algoma OPP – Fraud Investigation leads to Charges

On August 26, 2024, the East Algoma Detachment of the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) began a fraud investigation that occurred between August 10, 2024, and August 18, 2024, that took place at a local outfitters store in the City of Elliot Lake.

Investigation determined an employee stole store items, cash, had pocketed money from the till and refunded store items by falsifying invoices.  Closed circuit television (CCTV) recorded most of the fraudulent transactions and thefts.

On August 29, 2024, at approximately 7:00 p.m., the OPP made an arrest and recovered more store items.

As a result, Martin BATES, 48 years-of-age from Elliot Lake was charged with:

• Fraud under $5000 (seven counts)
• Falsification books and documents (five counts)
• Theft under $5000 (four counts)

The accused is scheduled to appear before the Ontario Court of Justice in Elliot Lake on October 10, 2024.

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OPP

The Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) provide policing services throughout Ontario. Our officers are responsible for policing over one million square kilometres of land and waterways. They provide frontline policing services to more than 320 Ontario municipalities and patrol over 126,000 kilometres of provincial roadways.

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