Calgary woman facing 12 charges of fraud, identity theft brought to Halifax

A 30-year-old woman from Calgary has been brought to Halifax to face 12 charges relating tofraud and identity theft.

Digby RCMP received a complaint in November 2016 that a business owner's email had been hacked.

According to RCMP,the suspects intercepted an email payment of nearly $52,000 for a large piece of equipment.

'These are serious charges'

Nova ScotiaRCMP'sCommercial Crime Section laid 12 charges against the woman who received the funds, including:

• Fraud over $5,000
• Theft or forgery of credit card
• Fraudulent possession, use or trafficking in credit card data
• Two counts of possession of property obtained by crime
• Two counts of trafficking inproperty obtained by crime
• Identity theft
• Identity fraud
• Launder proceeds of crime
• Two counts of breach of recognizance

"These are serious charges. It is multi-jurisdictional and we need to be able to ensure that she appears for court in our province where we have jurisdiction," said RCMP Cpl. Jennifer Clarke.

RCMP received help from other units

On May 19, RCMP searched the woman's home in Calgary and she was arrested later that day. Police returned her to Nova Scotia for her first court appearance on Wednesday, where has been remanded until Monday.

"We received a lot of help from other units," Clarke said, adding that Halifax Regional Police, Calgary Police Service Cybercrime Investigations Team, Edmonton Police Service, and Alberta RCMP Federal, Serious, and Organized Crime Unitwere involved in the investigation.

"We're very proud of the work that's taken place on this file and very glad to have been able to lay charges."