Edmonton police say they've charged an Edmonton man in connection with an alleged online ticket sale scam.

A total of 109 fraud-related charges have been laid against Elias Batraki, 30, who is alleged to have taken part in fraudulent ticket sales on Kijiji Canada between January and November 2014.

Police allege Batraki would ask the buyer for electronic money transfer for highly sought after tickets, and then after receiving payments, fail to provide them.

“Essentially he’d request payment for the item he was offering for sale through a transfer, then once it went through he’d no longer communicate with them,” Acting Det. Mike Walcom said.

It's alleged that Batraki was involved with more than 80 fraudulent online transactions, targeting people across Canada.

Investigators revealed that Batraki was assisted by a female accomplice, but she has not been identified.

Police said 88 complainants have stepped forward with more than $12,000 lost to fraud during the investigation by Edmonton Police.

“While an event ticket might not seem like a large loss to many people, to a lot of the people who were buying these tickets it was,” Walcom said. “This is something they saved up all year for, these were students, single moms.”

The investigations are part of an Edmonton police initiative called the Online Fencing Project that focuses on stolen items and fraudulent services offered for sale online.

Investigators said they’re working on a number of files similar to these.

“Pretty busy would be an understatement, it’s been an overwhelming amount of work, the workload just increases and increases,” Walkom said.

Through the project, police said nearly 50 people have been charged with about 450 criminal offences related to trafficking stolen property and fraud. In addition, police said they’ve recovered more than $200,000 in stolen property ranging from stolen vehicles and ATVs, jewelry, tickets, appliances, passports and prohibited weapons.

EPS said consumers can avoid becoming victims by following a few guidelines when making such online purchases:

  • Ask for a bill of sale and identification from the seller, and make sure they match
  • When possible, meet at a location where e-tickets can be verified, as they can be easily reproduced and distributed
  • Conduct transactions in person, in public in an area with video surveillance
  • Check if an item has been reported stolen on the Canadian Police Information Centre database
  • Ask the seller if an item is priced much lower than market value: Ask why the item is discounted, and if they can provide the purchase receipt

With files from Brenna Rose