Woman charged in fraud that saw Edmonton senior lose at least $1.6M

Police allege an Edmonton senior was “slowly defrauded” of more than $1 million over the course of a decade by a woman who befriended him.

The Edmonton Police Service says a 60-year-old woman is facing a fraud charge, and it believes there could be more victims.

In 2019, authorities were contacted by the family of the now 88-year-old man, alleging the woman defrauded him of $5 million between 2008 and 2017.

Investigators have been able to substantiate $1.6 million in stolen funds, the EPS said in a news release.

“This is an unfortunate case of the accused actively taking advantage of someone’s kindness and generosity, as is often the circumstance in frauds,” said Det. Dayna Bulas with the EPS Financial Crimes Section. “While we’re unable to recover the funds that were lost, we’re hopeful we can prevent the accused from victimizing others in a similar way.”

Tina “Phoeut” Soeung was charged on Sept. 20 with one count of fraud over $5,000.

Police are asking any potential victims to contact the EPS at 780-423-4567 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 or online at www.p3tips.com/250.

Correction: A previous version of this article indicated police said the accused defrauded the victim of $5 million. The family is alleging the figure is $5 million. Police have substantiated $1.6 million.