Two Charges of Fraud While Returning Birthday Presents

I know this is a US site and I live in Canada but im desperate for help right now so mabye someone can help me out.
So I just got back from the police station, i have a court date in march and i am being charged with two charges of fraud. Fraud Section 380(1)a)

This is what all happened: On january 19th it was my 18th birthday, and i sorta got spolied by my family saying its my last real birthday and among the many presents i got i recieved 3 packages of Crest Whitening Strips, on the 23rd I decided to return them because somebody in my family for some reason didnt notice i have braces (it was from my dads side of the family who i do not see often and ive only had the braces a few months, and the person who got it for me is willing to vouche in court that they purchased them). After returning them I got a 180$ giftcard to spend at Shoppers Drug mart, then i purchased a 150$ pre paid visa with the giftcard so i could spend the money somewhere else because i dont really need 180$ worth of condoms at the moment.

So yesterday on the 26th, the day after my brothers birthday he decided he wanted to return his lame whitestrips too. we discussed it and decided it easier for me to walk in and return them for him and just use my braces excuse again so they would just give me a giftcard no problem. When i explained the clerk the situation she gave me a weird look and said to me "one moment i just have to go check with my-" she just stopped talking and awkwardly speedwalked away. about 30 seconds later the manager comes up from behind me with my products in hand yelling "oh nice for you to come back I watched you on the cameras with the police this morning" then proceeded to accuse me of stealing the three whitestrips he had just taken from me and also accused me of stealing the ones i previously returned. He told me the police were on the way and blah blah blah trying to act all tough and started calling me a piece of garbage asking me if im scared of him. As soon as he started yelling at me i started to walk out of the store as i was pretty offended and he was lookin pretty aggressive and had my 180$ of products in his hands saying i stole them. I walked out to the parking lot and after he stopped following me i walked to my car and drove home.

Police show up at my house say im under arrest for two accounts of fraud and possibly theft too. I told the police that I recieved them as gifts and was simply returning them but the arresting officer kept telling me it was a lie. OH YEAH BY THE WAY THE ARRESTING OFFICER IS MY MOMS BROTHER WHO HATES MY FATHER. He asked me who i got the present from and he wouldnt stop asking and i really dont know who i got them from as there wasnt a name on those particular presents, aswell as some others (but honestly why do i need to be explaining this to police) so i ended up saying i got them from my grandma just out of guessing, so he went to her house and asked her if she bought those for me and she said she didnt. So he got pretty mad about that and i mentioned to him that my dad was there on my brithday when i got the presents so he told me straight up "im going to call your dad right now and ask him if you got these whitestrips for your birthday and if he says you did you are good to go, you can leave right now" he left the room and called my dad who confirmed with him that yes i did recieve those for my birthday.

My uncle came storming back in and asked for my moms cell number, i could tell he was mad and for some reason just didnt want to let me go, he talked to my mom for like 20 minutes, and came back in and told me to go talk to her on the phone. The second she was on the phone she was furuous with me, i have no clue what he said to her as i have still not spoken to her but she told me to tell him where i got them from right now blah blah blah she was saying that they are stolen, i explained to her that she was mistaken and that i recieved them from my dads side of the family as a gift, she started yelling at me that they never get me presents for my birthday, its honestly a family matter but my moms side has a lot more money than my dads side and my mom likes to hate on them for that which really ticks me off and yes they do get me presents but i guess they are not up to her ridiculous standard, my mom hung up the phone. My uncle, officer douchebag started yelling at me for a bit trying to get me to say i didnt get them from my dads side of the family because of what my mom said about them. He kept me for about an hour or two longer before he let me go and now i have a court date and two charges of fraud over a really ridiculous case.

What do you guys think will happen comes court, should i get a lawyer? or is this so ridiculous they will laugh it out. Please help im very concerned!

As you've probably gathered, the laws vary greatly between the two countries.

All we can do here is advise you to speak with a local attorney as soon as possible.

yeah i kinda figured, im just looking for anything at this point aha im getting desperate, this is a pretty ridiculous situation, i guess ill have to wait to talk to a lawyer

Let me get this straight. Somebody on your father's side of the family gave both you and your brother hundreds of dollars worth of teeth whitening strips. But nobody else but your dad remembers you receiving them as gifts - but dad doesn't know who gave them to you. Neither you nor your brother remember who gave them to you. You, your brother and father have called everybody who might have given them to you and cannot find anybody who says, "Yes, that was me." Your own mother says your story is insane, and that nobody on your father's side would have given you the strips....

If your lawyer is supposed to convince the QC that this was all an innocent misunderstanding based on those facts, he'll be earning his fee. You had best find the gift giver and his purchase records.

I'm sure we all can read between the lines - teeth whitening strips are a target for fraudulent refunders.

Correct, as far as the police are conncernced at the moment my dad knows that both me and my brother received them as gifts but we weren't sure at the time who it was but we now know it was my aunt and she's willing to come and testify in court.
And like I said, mommy and daddy just went through divorce in June, and the arresting officer (my moms brother) is only going by my moms word. I don't live with my mom she lives one hour away I see her once a week mabye.

Also my aunt payed with cash and has since lost receipt.

What Province did this take place in?

This is in ontario

The problem I see here is that there is no question you attempted to return several packages of Crest White Strips to the pharmacy. Where your problem comes in is that you have no proof that is where they originally came from. If you cannot prove all were purchased there, you may have a serious problem. I don't know where that burden falls in Canadian law.

When auntie shows the prosecutor her receipts, perhaps the prosecutor will believe you.

When an aunt who your family previously though doesn't like you or your family, out of the blue, sends you hundreds of dollars of tooth whitening strips, you should consider paying some slight attention to who sent them to you and sending a thank you note. Even if you don't care about the demonstration of courtesy, at least you'll be apt to remember who sent you the present.

Quote:

---

Quoting Security Consultant

---

I'm sure we all can read between the lines - teeth whitening strips are a target for fraudulent refunders.

---

If this story was cheese, it'd be swiss. Like seriously holey swiss.

I do like the braces part of the "story" though. Apparently there's no one in the family that know you got 'em.

Of course then there's the returning for your "brother" aspect that's a bit interesting too.

I am just wondering why I need to explain myself for all this because they cannot prove their accusation that I stole the items. I know what I did was suspicious but I even have my brother willing to come in and say I was returning his gifts for him, as well as my aunt who purchased them and my father who saw me with them.
Also would bringing up all the stuff about the cop being my moms brother even have any benefit or could it screw me
More.
To me this situation feels more like family drama and because my asshole uncle is a cop he seems to be picking
On me and my dad. Like he told me straight to my face no charges would happen aslong as my father told him that I got then for my birthday when he called him. My dad said to him "yes he got them for his birthday" but apparently my mom, who lives an hour away and hasn't talked to my dad in a month has a better idea of what goes on at his house. So officer douche pressed charges after that.

I just spotted this and spiked my interest... On my court papers it says right on their that I allegedly commited "Fraud Section 380(1)a) x2" that is exactly how it is written, the bracket is even missing on the court page, but after looking that up Fraud Section 380(1)(a) is Fraud Over 5000$ and there isnt even 400$ of stuff into play here. Fraud Section 380(1)(b) is Fraud Under 5000$ and i am for some reason charged with (a). Could this be helpful in my case?

Have you tried posting this on a Canadian law forum?

Speaking with a local attorney?

Out of all things to give to someone for a birthday present, they give "Crest Whitening Strips", and not 1, but 3 packages... Did any other family member give Dial bars of soap, or Head & Shoulders shampoo too?

Quote:

---

Quoting Mctague94

---

about 30 seconds later the manager comes up from behind me with my products in hand yelling "oh nice for you to come back I watched you on the cameras with the police this morning" then proceeded to accuse me of stealing the three whitestrips he had just taken from me and also accused me of stealing the ones i previously returned.

---

Doe's the store manager actually have video surveillance of you stealing the packages of whitening strips?

No, there is no video of me stealing them. He only saw a video of me returning them and buying visa cards with the store credit.
If they happened to be stolen they would have been stolen by sOmeone else at a different chain of stores, no way it could connect to me

"If they happened to be stolen they would have been stolen by sOmeone else at a different chain of stores, no way it could connect to me" This story just gets better and better. Look, even in Canada the police need probable cause to charge you. No doubt there is much you are leaving out of your story. Even if the officer was a relative - they still need probable cause. Why not tell us the rest of the story?