A Red Deer man faces 12 Criminal Code charges after a months-long RCMP investigation in which the suspect is alleged to have defrauded a number of victims between December 2016 and April 2017 while representing himself as a lawyer.
Red Deer RCMP began their investigation at the end of March after receiving a complaint that the suspect had represented himself as a lawyer and taken money from his victims in exchange for reportedly preparing legal documents. RCMP subsequently received several more complaints from other victims; through the course of the investigation, RCMP identified nine victims who reported dealing with the suspect in return for legal services on various dates between December 2016 and April 2017, including a process server who was hired by the suspect to serve a civil claim, and one victim who grew suspicious and did not pay the suspect. The suspect operated under the fictitious business name SS & Associates LLP.
On June 7th, Red Deer RCMP executed a search warrant at the suspect’s residence and seized electronics and documents relevant to the investigation, including documents under the business name SS & Associates LLP.
Chance Aaron Shaw, 26, has been charged with six counts of using, trafficking or possessing a forged document, four counts of fraud under $5,000, forgery and false pretences.
The Law Society of Alberta regulates the legal profession and protects the public by promoting and enforcing a high standard of professional and ethical conduct from Alberta lawyers. The Law Society maintains an online tool called Lawyer Directory, which allows the public to search for a specific lawyer by name, location, firm, area(s) of practice, gender and language(s) spoken. If an individual’s name cannot be found on Lawyer Directory, it may mean that this individual is not authorized to practice law in Alberta. Please contact the Law Society to confirm an individual’s ability to practice law. Anyone with concerns about the unauthorized practice of law is asked to contact the Law Society by phone at 1-800-661-9003. Consult the Law Society’s web site at https://www.lawsociety.ab.ca/ for more information and to access the Lawyer Directory.
Anyone with information about this investigation is asked to contact the Red Deer RCMP at 403-343-5575. Those wishing to remain anonymous can call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 or report it online at www.tipsubmit.com.
– Fawcett
