A Chestermere man is facing fraud charges after Edmonton police say he walked into cell phone retailers across Alberta and B.C. nearly 100 times, presented forged business documents, and left with brand new iPhones he never paid for.
Quoc-Tuan Huynh, 37, also known as Jimmy, faces two counts of fraud over $5,000 and two counts of uttering a forged document following an investigation by the Edmonton Police Service's Virtual Investigations Section that began in January 2026.
How It Worked
The scheme was straightforward. Huynh allegedly posed as the owner or authorized representative of a small business, walked into Telus or Bell Canada retail locations, and used forged business registration documents to open a new account. Phones were handed over on credit. Payments never came.
Police allege he repeated the process 97 times, opening 70 fraudulent small business accounts and walking away with 143 Apple devices worth approximately $255,469.
Why Edmonton Retailers Need to Know
EPS went public with the case specifically because local small retailers were among those hit. Unlike large chains with dedicated loss prevention teams, independent phone shops often have little recourse once a fraudulent account has been opened and the devices are gone.
"Due to the volume and value of phones that were fraudulently obtained, and the fact that this fraud is affecting small local cell phone retailers, we're warning the public about this prolific scam," said Staff Sergeant Marc Dehid of EPS' Virtual Investigations Section. "We want to warn business owners to be on the lookout for the accused, and to make sure they're verifying customer identification according to their anti-fraud policies."
Huynh was charged on March 30, 2026.
Running a Retail Business? Do This Now
EPS is urging cell phone retailers to tighten verification procedures immediately. Any business opening a new account for a customer claiming to represent a small company should be cross-checking business registration documents carefully and following internal anti-fraud policies to the letter.
Anyone with information is asked to contact EPS at 780-423-4567 or dial #377 from a mobile phone. Anonymous tips can be submitted to Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 or p3tips.com/250.
Source:
https://www.edmontonpolice.ca/News/MediaReleases/cellphonesMay14?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter
