Man wanted in connection with lottery scheme that targetted a senior turns himself in at Grande Prairie RCMP

Jul 19, 2023 | 1:16 PM

Two people are in custody and awaiting court dates after a complex investigation into a report of a senior citizen being defrauded of $200,000 in a lottery scheme.

A joint initiative was sparked between the RCMP Federal Policing Money Laundering Investigative Team and High River RCMP to find the two individuals responsible.

The two were identified and had Canada-wide warrants issued for their arrests in June.

On June 21, 21-year-old Dwyane-Ann Aaliyah Johnson of Edmonton was arrested at Toronto’s Pearson Internation Airport after trying to travel to Jamaica from Edmonton.

Johnson is charged with:

Fraud
Possession of property obtained by crime over $5,000
Laundering proceeds of crime
Use, trafficking, or possession of a forged document

Several days later, the second individual; 23-year-old Romeo Junior Spence turned himself in at the Grande Prairie RCMP detachment. Spence is a resident of Alberta.

Spence was arrested and charged with:

Fraud
Possession of property obtained by crime over $5,000
Laundering proceeds of crime
Use, trafficking, or possession of a forged document

Spence is due in court on July 21 in Okotoks, Johnson is scheduled to appear on July 28.

by Erika Rolling