A woman is accused of posing as a licenced massage therapist and acupuncturist and collected $37,000 over four years from unsuspecting clients.
Halton Regional Police said they began an identity fraud investigation in January and learned that the woman acquired registration numbers of actual licenced massage therapists and used them.
“After receiving payment for her services, (she) was providing these registration numbers to her clients for invoices to be submitted to their respective insurance providers,” police allege in a news release on Wednesday.
Investigators also discovered that the woman was allegedly providing other treatments, such as physiotherapy and acupuncture, without a licence.
Police said the woman, who provided services from her home and sometimes in a mobile capacity, obtained $37,000 over four years.
On Wednesday, investigators identified the suspect as 49-year-old Mahvish Ahmed. She was arrested and charged with 13 counts of identity fraud, one count of fraud over $5,000 and fraud under $5,000.
Police said Ahmed was released on an undertaking and is set to appear in a Milton court on Aug. 26.
Anyone with information regarding this investigation is asked to contact the Financial Crimes Unit at 905-825-4777 ext. 8739 or Crime Stoppers anonymously at 1-800-222-8477 (TIPS) or www.haltoncrimestoppers.ca.