Photo by Whitehorse Star
Sgt. Don Rogers
Media alert helped round up suspect
RCMP in the Yukon have arrested a man suspected of scamming people across the country,
RCMP in the Yukon have arrested a man suspected of scamming people across the country, prompting a flurry of posts on a blog dedicated entirely to warning people of the suspect's alleged confidence games.
Wade Glen Thompson, 39, was taken into custody late Tuesday night in Whitehorse.
He has been charged with fraud under $5,000, fraudulently obtaining food or lodging and the unauthorized use of credit card data, police reported Wednesday afternoon.
On Tuesday, local RCMP sent out a press release warning Yukoners that an unnamed man was in the territory purporting to sell tickets to a Michael Buble concert in Vancouver, as well as discounted hotel rooms.
At least one Whitehorse resident was taken in by the scam, and paid the man approximately $400 for tickets and a room, police reported.
After waiting for the tickets to arrive for several days, the man realized he'd been defrauded and reported the incident.
Public response came quickly once police had issued the warning, Sgt. Don Rogers said today.
"People that he'd been in contact with saw the news release on him and called police,” Rogers said. "So the media attention certainly helped.”
Thompson is suspected of perpetrating frauds similar to the one which allegedly occurred here in B.C., Alberta and Quebec, according to police.
Rogers said local RCMP expect to hear from other jurisdictions looking to press charges of their own against the man.
"We‘re not sure if other victims are going to come forward, but I wouldn't be surprised,” Rogers said of the case being built in the Yukon.
Victims, or at least people who have a bone to pick with Thompson, have already been coming out of the woodwork to hail his arrest on the Blogspot site Who is Wade Thompson Scamming Now?
One poster wrote, "In jail where he belongs!”
Another followed: "That is correct, Wade is in jail in Whitehorse. He is facing federal charges this time around. Please report any crimes committed against you to your local authorities and let them know Wade is incarcerated.”
The poster goes on to advise people to send victim impact statements to a post office box in Water Valley, Alta.
The suggestion doesn't sit well with the blog's host, however, who responds, "Excuse me for asking, but if Wade is in jail in Whitehorse, why should a victim impact statement be sent to a post office box in Water Valley, Alberta?”
Thompson is scheduled to appear in court at 9:30 a.m. March 24.
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Comments (7)
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bob vibert on Mar 22, 2010 at 3:43 am
This guy is No Angel, BUT there are others out there alot worse-in my opinion. 1. Look at the 400 ticket purchasers lost their money last summer for the Randy Bauchman Concert that was cancelled in Yellowknife by the seller-Garth Mackie in Hay River? Yet the RCMP guard his door like a Saint preventing anyone who lost money from approachimg him-after the first 300 people got their money back ($60 each), and 2. A Christian group in Whitehorse meets every Sunday- Clapping their hands and hopping up and down singing Praise the Lord then collecting online donations for Charity? What Chairity. The Pastors' Pockets. Go figure. How the Saints and the Law protect the CROOKS of this world. They prosper. Their victims go hungry. We need both Poetic and to restore Frontier Justice YUKON.
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Susan Thompson on Mar 19, 2010 at 11:42 am
Wade is my so-called brother-in-law. I say so-called because he scammed me and my husband, his adopted brother Doug, when we had a 6 month old baby and wanted to meet my husband's biological parents for the first time. Wade promised us plane tickets and took our money while I waited in the apartment. Imagine how dumb we felt to get scammed by my husband's own supposed brother.
But Wade is a conman and has been for 24 years, and the law has not yet put him in jail where he BELONGS. Probably lied about being an informant and told them some BS. Wade can be charming. Just remember everything he says is a lie, and it's all about money. Wade is a sociopath and my kids will never know him.
Oh, and my advice is NOT to send victim impact statements to Water Valley. Linda Thompson is my mother-in-law and lives in Water Valley - no doubt these are going to her. She will probably be making some misguided attempt to help Wade with them. (Sorry Linda.) My advice is only talk to police.
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mosi on Mar 19, 2010 at 3:11 am
Alert No 2. Watch any Church group or Christian Ministry calling for Seed Sowing or On-Line Donations. There has been one in Whitehorse scamming poor 'believers' for years and got away with it. People who gave to this site were too ashamed to admit that they gave
to God only to go into the Pastors' pockets?
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Tim Morriss on Mar 19, 2010 at 3:07 am
Great to finally have Wade Thompson behind bars! Great job by the RCMP to take this con artist off the streets.
He has worked his way from Montreal to Calagary, Toronto and most recently Vancouver, where he has scammed many people, myself included.
Great job by the poeple of Whitehorse and the Blog's to help put an end to this con man's antics once and for all.
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JC on Mar 18, 2010 at 11:24 am
Our poster boy Wade will undoubtedly be on bail by the weekend. Lord Human Rights will have him out in time for breakfast.
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Robin Edgar on Mar 18, 2010 at 9:18 am
Thank you for mentioning my 'Who is Wade Thompson Scamming Now?' in this news report on the St. Patrick's Day arrest of Wade Thompson aka Glen Thompson on fraud charges. Not only did the Mounties get their man, as they reputedly always do. . . but some might say they even took care of a "snake" on St. Patrick's Day. :-)
It seems that the photograph of Wade Thompson that I posted to the blog on March 4th (after it was kindly supplied to me by one of Wade's victims) may have been helpful to the RCMP. My web stats show that someone from the RCMP downloaded the photo from the WIWTSN? blog on Monday March 15th. Maybe other blogs can help to catch criminals in a similar manner.
I have made a link to the Yukon Justice Department's Victim Impact Statement form on the WIWTSN? blog so that Wade Thompson's victims may use it if they choose to. If the Whitehorse Daily Star could publish the URL of that form and the address to which any Victim Impact Statements should be sent to that would be a public service to people across Canada, and indeed across the Atlantic Ocean judging from my web stats. . . It seems that Wade Thompson "worked" the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver and scammed some people from Europe.
Here is the URL for the form -
http://www.gov.yk.ca/forms/forms/4500/yg4550_e.pdf
Now all victims need to know is where to send it to. I am confident that there a number of victims who have a thing or two to say about Wade Thompson.
Wade really is a piece of work judging from what I saw of him. He apparently scammed his own mother while in Montreal and I personally witnessed the aftermath of him scamming a group teenage girls staying in a Montreal youth hostel out of about $50 for "taxi fare" about an hour or two after I had given him $60 for "taxi fare".
Robin Edgar
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francias pillman on Mar 18, 2010 at 7:35 am
If people are stupid enough to buy tickets from a guy on the street they deserve to get ripped off. Are people really this stupid? Unfortunately yes when the RCMP needs to help people use their brains, lol.