Toronto police have arrested two additional suspects and are searching for a third in connection with a long-running synthetic-identity fraud scheme that investigators say began in 2016 and has resulted in more than 100 criminal charges to date.
The update comes as part of Project Déjà Vu, an investigation first announced publicly in April 2024 after police uncovered a sophisticated fraud network responsible for creating hundreds of fake identities used to open bank and credit accounts across Ontario. The probe was launched in October 2022 after a financial institution flagged several suspicious accounts believed to have been opened by a former contractor.
Det. David Coffey of the Financial Crimes Unit previously explained that synthetic-identity fraud involves inventing fictional personal information—names, birthdates, identification details—to open legitimate-looking accounts at banks and businesses. These accounts are then used to carry out fraudulent purchases, withdrawals, e-transfers and, in some cases, money laundering tied to trafficking, robbery and other serious offences.
Police say those involved in the scheme allegedly created more than 680 synthetic identities and opened hundreds of financial accounts. Fraudulent payments were sometimes deposited into these accounts to allow perpetrators to exceed credit limits. As of last year’s update, losses were estimated at more than $4 million.
Search warrants executed at multiple locations uncovered several dozen fake identity documents, hundreds of credit and payment cards linked to synthetic accounts and roughly $300,000 in Canadian and foreign currency.
On Thursday, officers arrested two Brampton residents: 55-year-old Misbah Akram and 28-year-old Saqlain Akram. Both are charged with causing another person to act on a forged document, making false statements to obtain loans and unauthorized possession of credit card data. Misbah also faces additional counts of fraud, laundering and possession of proceeds of crime. None of the charges have been proven in court.