‘Stamp Guy’ found guilty of defrauding Canada Post of $235,000

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Canada Post trade analysts started calling him “the stamp guy.”

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For at least three years, Allan Fischer, 59, created fake business accounts with fake phone numbers, addresses and emails across Canada for bulk mail with the Postal Service.

He first telephoned Canada Post to obtain a request for bulk mail services by fax. The application would be completed and returned, typically requesting urgent status, allowing the bogus business to order up to $7,500 worth of products on credit without a credit check.

Once Fischer had a new account, he gave up all bulk mail service and simply ordered stamps and prepaid products to be shipped to various UPS stores where he had mailboxes in southwestern Ontario.

And he would never pay the bills.

On Friday, Fischer was found guilty of fraud and possession of property criminally valued at more than $5,000 for what Superior Court Judge Spencer Nicholson called an “elaborate and sophisticated scheme.”

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Between 2013 and 2016, using 48 fake business addresses, Fischer defrauded Canada Post of $234,763.31 in stamps and other products. He was selling the stamps at a discount to various customers, some of whom found him online through kijiji advertisements.

Fischer’s scheme was so elaborate that the judge said he could come to “no other conclusion that his act was intentional and for the purpose of obtaining Canada Post products without paying for them.”

The scheme had many layers. Fischer rented mailboxes throughout Southwestern Ontario in London, St. Thomas, Tillsonburg, Woodstock, Cambridge, Chatham and Waterloo and had Canada Post products delivered there for bogus businesses in Ontario, Manitoba , Saskatchewan, Alberta, British Columbia and Nova Scotia.

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Canada Post became suspicious when it began reviewing 50-60 unpaid business accounts, all for unpaid stamp products, and was unable to contact customers at the listed phone number.

Google searches would be empty and the businesses and businesses did not exist or the address listed did not match.

A Canada Post inspector began examining 30 of the accounts in May 2016. One of the addresses was at the Executive Center in downtown London, where the inspector was able to get Fischer’s name and see him picking up parcels In his car.

The last 11 orders for businesses nationwide have been shipped to this address.

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police were called to review spreadsheets of activities mapped by Canada Post. They also had nine audio recordings of someone with a similar voice calling Canada Post to open new business accounts using different names and addresses and then ordering the stamps.

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Similar answers to selected security questions were also suspicious on apps. Many times the brand of the first car was Datsun, the name of the first girlfriend was Connie, the favorite concert was Blue Rodeo and the favorite book was Think and Grow Rich.

At least three times the same phone number has been used for fake businesses in Regina, Barrie and Winnipeg,

During his trial earlier this year, where Fischer represented himself without an attorney, Nicholson heard from customers who would buy stamps at a 30% discount – and sometimes still in debt – and from employees who were questioned at cafes. Tim Hortons to be short-term office help or web designers to add legitimacy to its business dealings.

Also testifying were members of a non-profit group who unknowingly appeared on an Executive Center mailbox for Canada Post deliveries.

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Eventually, the RCMP seized Fischer’s computers and electronic devices and found Canada Post applications and other documents. There was evidence of 48 fake accounts.

Fischer’s defense was that he ran a legitimate centralized business, “doing the work of many” for clients across the country.

“I reject these claims. I discovered that the companies involved either did not exist or were created by Mr. Fischer,” Nicholson said.

“It makes no sense that a company located in Abbotsford, BC, or Calgary, Alberta, (have) more convenience in having their product shipped to Chatham.”

He agreed with Assistant Crown Attorney Adam Campbell that if Fischer did business with the companies “there would be emails between Mr. Fischer and his company and those entities found on his devices.”

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Investigators found no communication or invoice.

“I discovered that Mr. Fischer was the mastermind of a sophisticated and elaborate Canada Post Corporation fraud,” Nicholson said.

“To disguise his scheme, Mr. Fischer went to great lengths to create background information to prove the existence of bogus companies. . . . As sophisticated as this scheme was, Mr. Fischer was arrested and has now been convicted.

Before setting a sentencing date, Fischer asked the judge how the next phase would affect the appeals process.

Fischer’s sentencing is set for August 17.

jsims@postmedia.com

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