Judge sends scammer who repeatedly victimized seniors to prison for three years

A Manitoba judge slammed criminals who abuse elders in so-called “grandparent scams,” while sentencing a Winnipeg man who acted as a courier in a string of the sophisticated frauds to three years behind bars.

Shane Strebly, who’s in his 40s, pleaded guilty to six counts of fraud, prior to his recent sentencing in front of provincial court Judge Cynthia Devine.

Strebly, acting as a courier for an accomplice or accomplices, took part in defrauding eight elderly victims between the ages of 73 and 89 of more than $30,000 combined over the course of 2023 and 2024, before his arrest by Winnipeg Police Service officers.

Many of the victims lived in seniors’ residences or assisted living.

“This crime has become notorious. Sentences must be severe enough to serve to denounce the crime and deter others from taking the risk of engaging in what is essentially elder abuse,” said Devine in a Sept. 18 written decision.

“The sentence must also acknowledge the harm this crime has done to the victims. Most of them did not recoup their financial losses, and likely never will, given their ages and fixed incomes. They have been deeply embarrassed, angry, frightened and have been left feeling more insecure, less competent and less independent.”

Crown prosecutor Samir Hassan had argued Strebly should be sentenced to two years in jail, plus probation, but Devine said that sentence wouldn’t fit the crime.

“Given the seriousness of the offence, which has unfortunately become far too frequent in Manitoba and throughout the country, and the high degree of culpability of the offender, the sentence recommendation of the Crown is too low to be fit and appropriate,” said Devine.

Defence lawyer Barry Sinder had sought 18 months in jail.

Strebly, who will be on probation for three years once he’s released from jail, was also ordered to pay $31,700 in restitution.

Devine outlined Strebly’s crimes, all of which included another fraudster calling the victim and impersonating a beloved family member or friend who urgently needed money.

Strebly would then go pick up the cash.

In the first instance, in January 2023, the victim received a call from a man pretending to be her grandson, who claimed he had been in a vehicle collision.

The fraudster said police had found drugs in his vehicle and he needed $8,000 to get out of jail. The scammer arranged a pickup via Strebly, who got the cash and deposited it in a Bitcoin machine.

That victim received another call from the fraudster two days later, claiming he needed another $9,000 for lawyer fees, but the 73-year-old woman contacted her son and grandson first.

They called police and set up a sting, catching Strebly on home video surveillance, asking for the cash back, said Devine.

Police apprehended him, but he claimed he was just doing a favour for a friend and officers released him with a warning, said Devine.

But the warning did not deter him, and Strebly participated in defrauding another senior, this time of $4,800 in cash, two weeks later.

Police again deduced Strebly was involved, and a financial crimes investigator called him and again warned him to stop, lest he be charged with fraud.

It was not clear, based on Devine’s sentencing decision, why Strebly was not charged at the time.

Strebly didn’t heed the second warning and continued to defraud victims until as recently as December 2024, said Devine.

The judge said the scam, which is becoming “increasingly common,” has the potential to become “more sophisticated and difficult to stop as artificial intelligence… proliferates rapidly.”

Strebly used the cash from the frauds to buy crack cocaine and made only $2,500 to $3,500 from the crimes, his lawyer said.

“It is difficult to imagine why he would continue to victimize elderly people for two years if that is all the money he was getting,” said Devine.

Strebly was involved in a vehicle collision in 2016 and left the scene, for which he was charged and sentenced to nine months in jail in 2019.

The other person involved went into a coma and later died.

“Strebly says he still thinks about that event frequently, saying the event changed him,” wrote Devine. “He turned to crack cocaine and became, in his words, ‘a drug-fuelled lost soul.’”

However, Devine said, he has not availed himself of addictions programming at Headingley jail, or done much else to address his criminal behaviour while awaiting court proceedings since his arrest.

erik.pindera@freepress.mb.ca