A bench warrant has been issued for a Burnaby man charged in a massive fraud scam that involves allegations he told his victims he was suffering from cancer.
The warrant was issued for Douglas Archie Clark, 64, who faces a total of 13 counts of fraud. Clark was set to appear in court this week, but did not show up for his appearance.
The allegations are that Clark portrayed himself as a member of the Canadian military, often indicating he's with the navy, either current or retired.
RCMP at the time of the arrest said some fraud victims have seen Clark in a military-type uniform.
Clark allegedly told victims he is sick and desperately needs money for treatments not covered by his medical plan.
Police believe he has defrauded his victims of a sum of almost $900,000, with some of the complaints dating back to the early 1990s.
Clark is described as a 64-year-old white male, 5-11 and weighing 200 pounds. He has short grey hair, blue eyes and a fair complexion.
At the time of his arrest, Ridge Meadows RCMP Insp. Dave Fleugel said: "We want to warn the general public about Douglas Archie Clark, and his alleged fraudulent activities. It has taken us 3-1/2 years to get to this point, and we are still actively investigating more files, involving 40 or more victims.
"A good portion of Clark's victims are people he knows. He has been very convincing in his scams, and his victims honestly believe that he is employed, or was employed, with the military. We know this to be false, and will present our case in court."
Clark was granted a conditional release on June 2, on orders not to contact any alleged victims, to stay in B.C. and not wear any military uniforms. He failed to show up for a court date on Monday.
On Friday, court services spokesman Neil MacKenzie said Clark is still on the loose. He said missing a court appearance is taken very seriously by a judge.
"Obviously if a person fails to show, it is something that is taken into account when they seek bail again," he said.
