Thanks to a tip from the public, a man who is suspected of defrauding young queer men has been arrested.

On April 18, West Vancouver police announced that they were seeking to locate and arrest 39-year-old Christian Michael Lee Richardson for five charges, including fraud.  

In October 2017, two men separately reported to West Vancouver police that they had been swindled by a male suspect who they had met on the gay-dating application Grindr.

After the suspect, who used the names Richard and Quantum, befriended the victims (on the dating app), he encouraged them to create bank accounts in their name, cash cheques from him, and then either encouraged them to either share the money with him or make purchases for him. However, the cheques were fraudulent and the victims lost over $3,000.

West Vancouver police announced today (April 23) that Richardson was found and arrested on April 20 by Burnaby RCMP after receiving information from a member of the public.

He was taken to a North Vancouver provincial court for an appearance and placed in custody for another court appearance on Wednesday (April 25).

As investigators believe there may be others who were targeted, West Vancouver police encourage anyone who believes they may have been victimized to contact their local police.