WARNING GOES OUT TO ONLINE SELLERS

BY JANA SEMENIUK

A Bruderheim family were the victims of scammers recently and lost their 1974 Corvette Stingray, valued at $25,000, after a fraudulent trade for a $30,000 stolen boat in May.

Jessie Vincent said her husband Adam traded his Harley online last year and wound up with the classic 1974 Corvette.

“He hadn’t ridden his bike in a couple of years, so he (listed it and) was approached by someone online, and he liked the trade, (so he took it),” she said, adding the family had the Corvette for a year before deciding to trade it for something more family friendly.

“It was only a two-seater, so we just wanted something we could all use as a family.”

Once again, Adam took to online sales and was once again approached by someone looking for a trade.

“He had an ad out for the Corvette and somebody approached him with a trade. He thought about it for a few days and decided it would be good for us,” she said, adding the trade was for a 2006 Chapparal Ski Boat.

“They talked back and forth for about a week and then eventually made arrangements for (the man) to come here with the boat.”

The man delivered the boat on May 11 leaving the Vincents thinking they got a great deal.

“The bill of sale for the car was $25,000 and (the boat was valued at) $30,000 so that’s why we thought we were getting a good deal,” she said.

Vincent said after they got the boat ready for summer and cleaned, they realized it needed a bit more work than they anticipated.

“We were going to take it out (on the lake) but there were a few things that needed to be done. It was missing parts like part of the wakeboard tower,” she said.

After carefully weighing their options, the family decided to once again list the boat, not expecting such a devastating outcome four days later.

“We decided to sell the boat and that’s how the original owner of the boat saw our ad and noticed it was his boat. He informed the police,” she said.

Vincent said members of the Fort Saskatchewan RCMP detachment came to her home on June 26 and informed the family the boat was stolen.

“The man and woman used stolen ID on the bill of sale so when we traded it we didn’t even have their real names,” said Vincent.

“The original owner of the boat said he came to pick his boat up (and discovered) it was stolen from a storage yard in Redwater. He didn’t notice it was (gone) until May 26.”

Vincent said the RCMP were ‘good with us’.

“We were not trying to hide anything,” she said. “They basically told us buyer beware and it’s not yours anymore.”

In the meantime, Vincent said she and her husband are feeling stressed out and frustrated after learning who the scammers were.

“We have some information and we know who it was and where they live but the police can't do anything until we ID them in a photo lineup,” she said.

“But when we went there to do that their machines (were) malfunctioning (and we have to) wait until they fix the machinery before we can ID them. And by that time who knows where they'll be with our car.”

An email to Constable Suzanne Ahlstrom with the RCMP K division was not responded to by press time.

Former Bruderheim pharmacist one of Edmonton’s most wanted

BY JANA SEMENIUK

A former Bruderheim pharmacist made Edmonton’s Most Wanted list this past Feb.

According to the Edmonton Police website, Sinan Hadi, 40, is wanted Canada-wide on charges including sexual assault.

Other reports said Hadi’s charges resulted from sexually assaulting a 16year-old female in 2016 who he convinced to get into his car after being involved in a collision.

He was arrested the next day. After a provincial court date in 2018 he was convicted and ordered to turn in his passport within two days and attend a pre-sentencing appointment.

Hadi hasn’t been seen since.

According to online reports, Hadi first came to work in Bruderheim as a pharmacist in July 2015 with Dr. Sonnie Oyama. The pair were working temporarily out of a meeting room in the town office and had plans of possibly leasing space in a new develop- ment later that year.

Hadi, was described as being a practicing pharmacist for the previous 10 years and one of the few pharmacists in Alberta qualified to write prescriptions and order lab tests. He also held certifications in several areas including methadone and pain management, dermatology and diabetes.

Another prescribing pharmacist, Ehab Mohammed, leased the space in 2017, left by Hadi and Dr. Oyama, to open the Bruderheim Pharmacy under no affiliation with the pair.

The Bruderheim pharmacy is still operating today.

Meanwhile, other reports indicate Hadi also worked in Gibbons, Morinville, Redwater and Edmonton. He is described by police as being 5 foot 10 and weighing 179 pounds. He has black hair and brown eyes.

Information on the whereabouts of Hadi, please contact the Edmonton Police Service at 780-423-4567.