Man arrested, charged with Kijiji fraud

An alleged case of failure to deliver goods sold on Kijiji has led Thunder Bay Police to charge a 35-year-old city resident with fraud. 

Police received a pair of complaints from consumers regarding goods bought online through the free classified service. In the first case it’s alleged a southern Ontario complainant entered into an agreement to buy a backhoe and steer skidder posted on the popular website, but after payment was made the machinery was allegedly never delivered.

In the second case the items being sold were a number of televisions, which again were paid for but allegedly never delivered.

Richard Belbas has been charged with fraud over $5,000, fraud under $5,000, breach of undertaking and is expected to appear in court on Monday.

Police caution the public that entering into online transactions on websites like Kijiji, where customers often buy and pay for items without seeing them firsthand, can lead to fraudsters.

“You should always confirm what you are buying and who you’re dealing with,” Const. Julie Tilbury said in a release. “A wise consumer should always be careful when making transactions with online parties.