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3 arrested in education fraud investigation

Police began an investigation in March that saw them look into allegedly fraudulent letters of permission and transcripts for six students at an area post-secondary institution
WRPS cruiser

NEWS RELEASE
WATERLOO REGIONAL POLICE SERVICE
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Waterloo Regional Police have arrested three post-secondary students in connection to a fraudulent document investigation. 

In March 2022, members of Waterloo Regional Police Service’s General Investigations Unit - Commercial Fraud began an investigation into fraudulent letters of permission and transcripts involving six students enrolled at a local post-secondary educational institution.

One suspect allegedly created fraudulent letters of permission and transcript documents for 17 courses from two international universities. The suspect utilized the documents and sold them to five other students, who paid a sum per course for the documents.

None of the students attended any courses or completed any coursework associated with the fraudulent documents. The fraudulent transcripts indicated completion of the courses, with the attainment of high grades. The students submitted these documents to their educational institution as proof of course completion.

Two suspects obtained degrees from their post-secondary educational institution in 2020, having utilized the fraudulent documents to obtain course credits.

As a result of the ongoing investigation, three students, a 25-year-old male and two 23-year-old males, were arrested by investigators between May 2 and 3, 2022, and charged with uttering forged documents.

One of the accused parties is scheduled to appear in court on June 13, 2022. The other two parties are set to appear in court on June 16, 2022.

The investigation is ongoing. 

Anyone with information is encouraged to call police at 519-570-9777 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477. 

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