An Ontario man was arrested March 5, 2024, after trying to defraud six TD Canada Trust branches in Halifax, Dartmouth and Cole Harbour that day. Nazar Mohmed Zakati, 38, of Mississauga pleaded guilty in Dartmouth provincial court to seven charges and was handed a conditional sentence of two years less a day, followed by two years of probation. Photo by Steve BruceArticle contentAn Ontario man has avoided real jail time for trying to defraud six TD Canada Trust branches in the Halifax area over a span of less than seven hours.THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY.Subscribe now to access this story and more:Unlimited access to the website and appExclusive access to premium content, newsletters and podcastsFull access to the e-Edition app, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment onEnjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalistsSupport local journalists and the next generation of journalistsSUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES.Subscribe or sign in to your account to continue your reading experience.Unlimited access to the website and appExclusive access to premium content, newsletters and podcastsFull access to the e-Edition app, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment onEnjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalistsSupport local journalists and the next generation of journalistsRegister to unlock more articles.Create an account or sign in to continue your reading experience.Access additional stories every monthShare your thoughts and join the conversation in our commenting communityGet email updates from your favourite authorsSign In or Create an AccountorArticle contentNazar Mohmed Zakati, 38, of Mississauga was arrested at the last bank he targeted March 5, 2024.Article contentArticle contentZakati pleaded guilty in Dartmouth provincial court in February to six counts of fraud over $5,000 and one count of unlawfully possessing identification bearing the name of another person.Article contentArticle contentHe was sentenced Monday by Judge Alanna Murphy, who accepted a joint recommendation from lawyers for a conditional sentence of two years less a day, followed by two years of probation.Article contentMurphy said she was satisfied that allowing Zakati to serve a term of imprisonment in the community would not endanger the public and would be consistent with the fundamental purposes and principles of sentencing.Article contentZakati will be on house arrest for the first year of the conditional sentence before switching over to a 10 p.m.-6 a.m. curfew for the remaining 364 days.Article contentWhile on probation, he will have to complete 50 hours of community service and pay back $4,817 – or 20 per cent of the more than $24,000 that was defrauded from the bank.Article contentMurphy also imposed a standalone restitution order for $19,271 that the bank can use to obtain a civil judgment against Zakati.Article contentArticle contentCrown attorney Tiffany Thorne read an agreed statement of facts into the record Monday.Article contentThose facts say Zakati deposited, or attempted to deposit, fraudulent cheques at six different TD locations on the same day, using a fake permanent residency card for ID.Article content“While the cheques themselves were real, they were linked to an account that had been closed and had no funds,” the statement says.Article contentAt 10:30 a.m. on March 5, 2024, Zakati deposited a cheque for $21,420 at the Spring Garden Road branch in Halifax. The bank placed a seven-day hold on the funds, so no money was lost.Article contentJust over an hour later, at 11:37 a.m., he visited the branch on Quinpool Road in Halifax and presented a $39,000 cheque for deposit. The teller deposited the cheque and put a hold on the funds, but then had to undo the hold briefly in order to fix the deposit receipt.Article contentDuring the roughly 10 seconds that the hold was not in place, someone transferred the money out of the account, the court was told. The bank was able to pull back $14,912 of the funds but could not recover $24,088.
Ontario man gets conditional sentence, probation for trying to defraud TD branches in Halifax area
