Calgary Man Charged After Allegedly Posing As A Vet & Falsifying Firearms Training Course
A Calgary man has been charged with fraud after he allegedly posed as a military veteran and ran a falsified firearms training course.
In a statement, Calgary Police said a man was arrested on August 31 in relation to the operation of a false private firearms training course out of his home in northwest Calgary between January and June 2022.
Bradley Keith Bell, a 36-year-old from Calgary, was charged with four counts of failure to comply with a release order and one count of fraud under $5,000.
Bell was on bail after being charged last year for allegedly posing as an "ex-military member" and providing survivalist training under false credentials.
He faced 11 charges, including unlawful use of military uniforms, possession of a firearm while unauthorized, careless use of a firearm, possession of stolen property and possession of body armour.
Police said that several victims thought they were registering for a Restricted Possession and Acquisition Licence (RPAL) course with a certified instructor.
Bell allegedly provided safety booklets and instruction on how to handle firearms before asking victims to complete a "Canadian firearms safety exam" as the final part of their certification.
Police added that victims were also required to provide payments, personal information and photographs, which the man said was part of the application process.
However, police said that none of the victims were officially certified and the man posing as an instructor didn't have a firearms licence or a certification to be an instructor.
After investigating, police searched the man's home and seized ammunition, documents for several RPAL applications, photographs and personal information of the victims.
Acting Sergeant Steve Lynch of the Calgary Police Service Firearms Team said fraudulent firearms training "poses a risk to the public" and encouraged any victims of similar incidents to report to the police.
Colton James Crowshoe
Hussam Ahmad Ismail
Monique Mattar
The male suspect.