Man charged with defrauding more than 20 Calgary seniors out of thousands of dollars

Calgary police have charged a man with defrauding numerous seniors out of about $186,000 in a string of incidents over a five-week period.

Police say there were 18 separate incidents between Aug. 29 and Oct. 3, 2025, and that they first became aware of the alleged scams in September.

In each case, police say elderly people would get a call from a woman they did not know, who called herself Linda Jones. The caller would tell the seniors that she was looking into suspicious transactions from their bank accounts.

'Jones' would then get their bank card information, including their PIN codes. She would tell them a courier would be coming to their home to take their bank cards, as part of the investigation.

Then, police say a man — who used either the alias Garry Barnes or Norman Weldon — would show up at the senior's home and take their bank cards, as well as sometimes other items like their cellphone or iPad.

Police allege that man used those bank cards to make cash withdrawals or buy pre-paid VISA cards or luxury goods.

Officers were able to get a description of the suspect from some of the people who interacted with him, and issued Canada-wide warrants for him.

Joshmin Jerrel Garnett, 31, was arrested in Richmond, B.C. He faces 13 charges of fraud over $5,000, five charges of fraud under $5,000, identity theft and uttering a forged passport.

Calgary police say Garnett is allegedly responsible for similar incidents in B.C. and Ontario.

He's set to appear in court on Monday, Jan. 12.