Friday 4 October 2013

Wes Devries sentenced to 3 years


Court today was... interesting.

It started off with the prosecutor handing the defence attorney 5 victim impact statements, including mine.  I was in shock when Wes' attorney said 'This is a courtroom, not a therapy session'. She also said that the victims were 'just a bunch of angry women'.  I understand trying to defend your client, but I felt that the comments this woman said were so disrespectful not only to the victims, but to the court as well.  She was fully aware we were sitting within earshot.  The judge reminded her that everything she was saying was on record and if she wanted to have a private conversation she should take it outside.  


Wes entered the courtroom in his red outfit and he snuck a peak at the victims sitting in the courtroom but quickly looked down at the ground.  His lawyer had requested that he be able to sit beside her at the table rather than in the glass-enclosed booth.  His pants were too big for him and he was wearing black socks with white slip-on shoes.  Wes always wore the highest end clothes and I hope he hates that outfit.


The prosecutor read through the 15 counts in the information and gave a brief summary of each.  


1. female victim defrauded for $3200

2. female victim defrauded for $200
3. vancity savings - defrauded for $3100
4. myself - defrauded for $2700
5. female victim defrauded for $2000
6. female victim defrauded for $1500
7. female victim - charges stayed (not proceeding)
8. female victim - theft $3000 value
9. north shore credit union - Wes had deposited 5 empty envelopes and withdrew $14,698
10. female victim - defrauded of $10,000
11. victim #10 - theft 
12. female victim - posed as a handyman to commit theft
13. bike store - stolen bicycle valued $3000
14. male victim - used cheque stolen from another victim to defraud $770
15. bike store - stolen bicycle - charges stayed

After the summary of the charges the prosecutor wanted to submit the 5 victim impact statements.  The defence attorney wanted to be allowed to read them over before submitting them to the judge.  We adjourned for lunch and had awhile to reflect on all the happenings of the morning.  What stuck with me the most was how little regard the defence counsel had for the victims.  It felt like she was purposely trying to get a reaction from us.  I would never treat another human being with such disrespect.  


When we came back from the lunch break we came in and sat down.  The defence attorney was thumbing through our victim impact statements and singing, 'Cry Me a River'.  Wow!  Couldn't believe that she had topped her morning comments.  Disgusting behaviour!


When court resumed she started out by objecting to the statements being submitted.  She said they were of no relevance, no value and highly prejudicial.  She said they made references to how Wes should be sentenced and that was inappropriate.  I wish I could have told the court that nobody in the judicial system told us to write victim impact statements, never mind gave us any directions on how to complete them.  As the victims, we took it upon ourselves to let the court know how Wes' criminal behaviour had affected us.  The prosecutor didn't fight for them to be entered but instead summarized them by saying that the  same sentiments were expressed in all the statements; all the victims felt betrayed, used, doubted their own judgements and had financial and emotional hardships as a result of their dealings with Wes.  This seemed satisfactory to both sides but I really wanted my statement to be a part of the record.  At the end of this I will post my own statement for you to read.


The defence counsel started her submission by saying that the police didn't want to pursue this matter and that any charge on its own wouldnt have stood a chance in court.  She said that Wes wanted to plead guilty and accepted the full burden of responsibility.  Then she went off on a tangent about how the unsecured loans and the money pushed at Wes was the issue.  He had met the manager of a bank at a hockey game and was asked 'What can I do for you?'.  She ranted about banks for a few minutes and then the judge interrupted her, 'You're surely not arguing that, are you?'.  She was trying to argue that the problem was that the banks trusted people.  Blame the institution, blame the victim....


She moved on and gave a history of Wes Devries.  He was born in Montreal. He was adopted at a young age.  His family moved to Kamloops when he was 7 and he blames his unhappiness there on being bi-racial.  His family members are successful, well-adjusted members of society.  Wes moved east at some point and had a short-lived marriage.  He then had a relationship with a woman from the states and had a child who has been mainly raised by the mother and her family.  He then married another woman in Vancouver and had a daughter with her.  The lawyer said that this woman and Wes openly communicate and have a good relationship.  I know that this woman says in public that she is embarrassed by Wes and wants nothing to do with him but this confirms what I already know about her - she supports him and the only reason I can imagine that she maintains a relationship with him is that she gets some financial benefit from it.  I am sure that Wes has emotionally manipulated her and that she is a victim of him as well.  I hope that one day she gets the strength to break free from him, if not for her own sake then for her daughters.  Wes is the worst role model a female could have - he has absolutely no respect for females. Next the attorney went on to list Wes' skills; he is an excellent cook, a wonderful companion (had to muffle my laughter at that one), knows a lot about wine and likes to eat at fine restaurants.  She said his best skill is finding female company.  She said he meets female company that want to please him on all levels including giving him money.  I sat there shaking my head.  Unbelievable!


The defence they then offered up was that Wes has an undiagnosed mental condition that compels him to defraud people.  She said there is obviously something wrong with a person who does this over and over and over again.  He admits to betraying people by asking them for money knowing he is not going to pay them back.  He also admits that he gets a certain high by taking people's money and things.  He keeps most of his frauds under $5000.  They requested that there be a psychiatric assessment.  They asked the court to move away from punishment and look at rehabilitation for Wes.  She gave an odd example of a cat that plays with you but can't help but swipe at you because although they can be domesticated they remain predators.  But a person can be changed and become a viable member of society.  She said society would be best served by rehabilitation because segregation hasn't worked.  She said Wes has been very cooperative with the police, was happy to get arrested and didn't like being alone.  They asked for a sentence of 2 years less a day and 3 years of probation.  The judge ordered a recess and said she would come back at 4:00 with her decision.


We went downstairs for coffee while we awaited her decision.  When we went back into the courtroom I felt sick.  I realized that I was not going to be satisfied with either of the options laid out before the judge.  Even if she was to sentence him to the full 3 years that the prosecution asked for it wouldn't amount to him spending very much time in jail.  It hit me that this is going to be a part of my life forever.  Every time he scams someone and they google him they are going to find me.  And  I will help them with as much information as I can.  There is no chance that Wes is not going to be back scamming people when he is released... it's only a matter of when.  


It seemed like a very long time waiting for the judge to come back.  She read through the counts again and then gave her sentencing.  Wes had used seduction and trickery to defraud people.  He had trolled the internet and in a short period of time he had charmed women and secured their trust.  He had devised a pretext to fraudulently secure banking.  His life of crime began when he was 19 and since then he has a deplorable history of fraud, forgery, theft and assault.  He wines and dines his targets and then uses and abuses their trust.  He takes gross advantage of the natural want for love that human beings feel.  He has proven himself to be a predator and chronic recidivist.  His actions are based on his greed and his victims on their generosity and trust.  A self diagnosis by a convicted conman of a mental condition would hold no weight in this court.  She said she was imposing a severe sentence to hold him accountable for his reprehensible behaviour.  He was ordered to pay all the victims restitution except for the thefts and to submit to a DNA order.  He stood up and said in the spirit of fairness he would admit that the bracelet he stole had a value of $2000 and he didn't object to that amount being added to the restitution orders.  He may as well have said that the bracelet was worth 10 million dollars because there is no chance of him ever voluntarily paying any restitution.  There are very few victims ever paid back any money and the only reason that they were was to prep them for a larger scam.  The judge then sentenced him to 36 months in a federal prison.  He had already been in for 2 months and since he is only required to serve 1/3 of the sentence he will be out in approximately 10 months.  If he was ordered to serve his time consecutively he would be in jail for 37 years.  But that is not how the Canadian justice system works.  


I expected to feel happy when Wes was sentenced.  I expected to feel relieved or at least a sense of it being done with.  Instead I feel like it is a ticking time bomb and I am just waiting for him to get out.  He will resume his life of scamming people.  I will resume my life of looking over my shoulder and being nervous and anxious all the time.  I am sure some of his other victims feel the same way but I feel especially uneasy because I am the one who has been so public about everything.  He is unpredictable and he doesn't show any remorse.  I can sleep a bit better while he is in jail but that will all change once he is released.


Here is a portion of my victim impact statement that never got to be heard in court so I thought I would make it part of my own public record.




As a victim of fraud perpetrated by Wesley Devries, I have gone through a whole array of emotions.  I have felt embarrassed and ashamed that I was so foolish in my decisions regarding him and as a result fell victim to his scam.  I have a hard time trusting my own instincts after misjudging Wes so badly.  After the scam, I felt emotionally manipulated.  The ensuing interactions with the accused caused much frustration and left me feeling intimidated, angry, distrustful, threatened, scared, anxious, nervous and uneasy.  I spent many sleepless nights worrying about the unpredictability and capabilities of the man who scammed me.  I felt slightly safer after installing an alarm system and hiding all my valuables at a friend's house.  I kept all my windows and doors closed and locked all summer long.  I sometimes parked my car a few blocks away, worried about retaliation in the form of vandalism.  When I did start to sleep regularly again I slept with my phone beside me, ready to call 911 if he broke in.  From the research I had done on him, I didn't find much information on him having been violent, but the things he had said to me, as well as the time he showed up at my house close to midnight, definitely left me feeling intimidated.  I checked in with friends or family every single night so someone knew I was home safely.  In the mornings I would be nervous to go to my car.  I would be on edge every time I was in a neighbourhood I knew him to frequent.  Even now, when I see someone on the street that resembles him I automatically panic and then have to calm myself down and remember that he is currently incarcerated.  After coming forward about being scammed, I have found it hard to deal with the judgements people have placed on me.  

As a result of Wes’s criminal and fraudulent actions, I have lost $3370 of my money. I feel it is only just and fair that he repays me this money and request that he is ordered to pay me restitution. I would like to see a time frame put on this requirement in that he is required to pay a set monthly amount to me and to have repaid it within a two year time frame. I would also like assurance that if repayment is not made that there will be suitable consequences. His past history has shown a complete disregard for court orders and I think that should be addressed.

In terms of my personal safety and security, I am asking the court to impose a condition that he not be allowed to have contact with me, nor attend where I work or reside. I would also like to be notified of his release and of any bail or parole/probation hearings.

This whole situation has been emotionally draining for me. For three full months it consumed my entire life as I spent countless hours dealing with my bank and the police. It was exhausting and many times I felt completely overwhelmed. Luckily I am a strong person to shoulder that responsibility. As scared and drained as I was, I kept moving forward and stayed focused on not letting this happen to anyone else. I have never had any dealings with criminal matters and at every step was met with frustration - especially dealing with someone who knew how to commit fraud and other crimes and for the most part have them fly under the radar. Having heard from other victims from as far back as 20 years ago I have found out the true impact of the crimes of Wes Devries has caused others. I hope the courts will take the negative impact Wes’s actions have caused for me into account and ensure that I am financially compensated for his criminal actions.

And here are links to the Province's articles;

http://www.theprovince.com/news/Exclusive+Interview+Fraudster+Devries+found+easy+scam+women+online/8979526/story.html

http://www.theprovince.com/news/Scammer+victims+last+laugh+Devries+sentenced+three+years+prison/8979593/story.html


Thursday 22 August 2013

Seeing Wes Devries in court today...

I had never been to court before.  I wasn't sure what to expect and I definitely was feeling uneasy about seeing Wes and how that would leave me feeling.  Almost an hour after he was scheduled to appear the big TV screen in the courtroom turned on and there was Wes, in an orange jumpsuit and his thick rimmed hipster glasses.  He sat there quietly surrounded by a grey cement background.  I had mentally prepared myself to look him in the eyes but was relieved that he was appearing via video.  I wasn't sure what he could see of the courtroom but if he could see the last row of the otherwise empty courtroom he would've seen the reporter from the Province and me. I was sitting there with a slight smirk on my face writing every detail of what was being said between the prosecutor and his lawyer.  There was not much information shared about charges and the matter was put over until Tuesday of next week.  After court, Dan and I went upstairs to the registry and got the information for the upcoming charges - 14 in all.  And I know of at least 6 others that could've been included in this set of charges but for one reason or another weren't.  Some people admitted to being scammed by Wes Devries but didn't want to report it to the police for their own individual reasons - either too embarrassed or just wanting to leave it behind them.  I completely understand that and there is definitely a part of me that wanted to crawl under a rock and hide from all of this.  But I am just not the type of person that could let this go.  Good or bad - I am 'all-in'.

Seeing Wes was oddly therapeutic for me.  I had been nervous and on edge but seeing him confined to the small space of the correction centre's video room made me feel empowered.  I helped put him there.  No designer clothes.  No stupid hats.  No gourmet meals or expensive nights out on the town using money he had scammed from people.  But the best part for me is knowing that he won't be able to get the 'rush' he says he gets from scamming while he is there. And even if it is just for a short period of time, he is off the street and unable to victimize any more people for awhile.  I think that Wes being behind bars is the only way to stop him from scamming people.  He has been to jail before for very similar crimes and has almost always gone right back to scamming as soon as he is out of jail.  Obviously the punishments that he receives for his wrongs are not enough to deter him from doing wrong again.  When he gets out this time (hopefully years from now) he will probably just change his name slightly so people can't find out what type of person he is right away and then continue his usual pattern of deceiving people for his own selfish gain.

On a positive note, I have met some very inspiring and amazing people on this journey.   Ladies - your courage in coming forward and sharing your stories with me (and the police) has provided me with the strength to continue moving ahead with it all.  You have been my support system and I never feel judged by any of you because I know that you understand how Wes uses his charms to manipulate people.  We will all be smarter and stronger women because of this experience and you have each added to my life in your own unique way.  And to the men who have come forward - I commend you.  I realize that as hard as it is for a woman to admit that she has been scammed, it is doubly hard for a man to admit that.  I know that there are many more men out there that Wes has scammed who haven't come forward and I would encourage them to rethink that.  It is super important that people are made aware of the full scope of how many different ways Wes has to scam people.  Anyone out there that has been scammed by Wes or knows someone that has been scammed by him I would still love to hear from you.

A special thank-you to Dan Fumano of The Province newspaper - without you and your coverage of this I don't think any of this would have moved forward the way it has.  You have been absolutely amazing and your continued interest and pursuit of this story has helped make people aware of Wes Devries.  Together we have all put a huge dent in his potential victim pool.  And I would like to say thank-you to the VPD for all of their hard work to make sure that the case against Wes was thoroughly investigated and resulted in 14 charges against him.  I know that the publicity didn't make that job any easier and I really appreciate all the long hours put forth.  And to L.C. - your courage to speak out and let other women know about Wes was the main reason I came forward and shared my story.  I really don't know what I would have done had I not known about Wes having scammed you.  You are my hero and I don't think you get enough credit for your bravery.  And in getting to know you as a friend since this incident your positive outlook on life is so inspiring.  Even though we met under the worst of circumstances I am so happy to have you in my life.

Thank-you again to all the amazing people in my life who have supported me through this - I know there have definitely been times when you were concerned for my safety and my well-being and you still supported me.  It has made this whole experience much easier to go through knowing how many people I have around me that love and support me.

Lisa




Friday 2 August 2013

Arrested!

I will write a full post on this later tonight but thought I should put a link in to the article at least....

http://www.theprovince.com/news/vancouver/Serial+scammer+behind+bars+following+undercover+police/8739383/story.html

Thank-you to everyone for all the love and support during all of this.

Thursday 25 July 2013

Update on Hurricane Wes Devries


 So much has happened since the articles in The Province Newspaper;

http://www.theprovince.com/news/could+talk+fleas+messed+with+wrong+girl/8612967/story.html

http://www.theprovince.com/news/Police+mount+investigation+against+alleged+scammer/8618362/story.html

Just found this and thought I would share:

 http://bb.nsmb.com/showthread.php?p=2768370

Apparently since we have put a dent in the potential victim pool for his 'dating' scams he had to move on to other things.  Here are a few more things to keep in mind, not necessarily about Wes but in general;

- Be very careful who you allow to access your house, anyone from a new friend or potential love interest to a handyman or possible buyer of your goods from craigslist.  Once someone has access to your place they can easily assess what is valuable and where it is kept.
- Secure all bikes when leaving them unattended, even if it is for a short period of time.  I would suggest that you even lock them up when inside a secure area such as a garage
- It is ALWAYS a bad idea to do any financial favors for any reason for someone you don't know very well.  But if you happen to be so 'stupid' to do this, as I was, be aware of what your bank's policies are. Because of my ignorance in banking lingo and no clarification given by 2 different RBC reps I was scammed for $2700.


I have decided that since I have done more towards warning people about Wes Devries than I ever thought I could that it is now up to the universe to balance out all the wrongs he has done.  For awhile I felt like this whole situation was taking over my life...  and while I realize that it is going to be a super long and frustrating process until this is all concluded, my head is in such a better place than it was even a month ago.  It's hard to admit that I misjudged someone.  It was definitely hard to put my giant, costly mistake on display for everyone to judge me on.  It was hard to read the comments about how 'stupid' I am.  It was hard to forgive myself for making the mistakes I made in this whole situation.  And I will fully own those mistakes.  But I have also learned from those and in the process I have also learned a lot about myself and how strong and persevering I am.   And how many more other strong women are out there too.


Wednesday 3 July 2013

My experience with Wes De Vries

Thank-you for taking the time to read this.  If you or someone you know was scammed by this man please email me at wesscammedmetoo@hotmail.com.  A big thank-you to Dan Fumano at The Province for all his effort and help getting this story out there.  you can also contact dan @ dfumano@theprovince.com



If I needed someone to vouch for my character I would have about a hundred volunteers for that in no time at all.  And as far as I can tell the rest of his victims are also lovely women with big hearts, compassionate and giving of themselves, trusting and selfless.  Are these the type of women that someone should be exploiting for their kindness?  If Wes needed character witnesses, who would stand up beside him and swear that he was a good person with good intentions? Is there anyone in his life that would?


 Reposted and amended from an earlier blog post;

What follows is a story of a smart woman who made a very stupid mistake.... yup - that's me!  But please don't judge me by this one bad decision I made.  I promise you that I am not usually such an idiot... talking with others I have decided that he uses his magical charms and makes people act like complete fools for short periods of time.  I will never fall under that spell again and I am using this forum to warn other women not to fall victim to him either.  So... here goes....

I met him online.  I wrote to him (ya - that's right, I picked him).  His profile was funny and he sounded great.  He responded right away.  He wanted to meet me that night.  I talked with him for over an hour and then decided that I would meet him for a coffee the next day.

When I met him he was charming and funny, and at the same time very average and normal.  Only thing I didn't like was his hipster doofus hat askew on his head but I could look past that.  He wanted to spend more time with me.  I was flattered. He seemed genuinely interested in me.  For days we hung out together and I immediately felt comfortable with him.  He did little things that built trust.  He bought my coffee.  He was on the phone with his mortgage broker.  We talked about mutual friends we had.  I felt at ease.  I enjoyed spending time with him.  I googled him and basically just found an inactive twitter account - nothing unusual at all.  We went for lunch one Friday and he asked me if I could help him with cashing a cheque.  I hadn't even agreed to do this transaction and all of a sudden we were at the bank and I was depositing a cheque into the atm.  Somewhere in that silly head of mine I knew it wasn't the smartest thing to do but I felt like I would insult him if I questioned the cheque so I did it.  MY BAD!  I have no excuses or explanations as to why I had this lapse of judgement.  I will restate here that I am not usually an idiot but I can see why people might think otherwise right about now.  He did seem like a great guy and everyone around us seemed to know and like him.  What's the worst thing that could happen?  (It's like when you're watching a horror movie and you feel like the next victim should know that the killer is just around that next corner - why are you going that way?  Turn around!  Turn around!)  The cheque was for $2700.  Then he asked me to take out $1000 to give as a down payment for a guy selling a car.  I could only take out $200 so I took that out and gave it to him.  I called my bank to ask when the cheque would clear and was told it would clear the next day (what I found out later was that they meant that the hold would be off and because I was a good customer I could access the money).  This is not a transaction I had ever done before so I trusted the bank when they told me the next day.  The next morning I went into the RBC and again asked if the cheque had cleared and was again told that it had.  The only question asked by the cashier was what bills I wanted the cash in.  Having twice been assured by bank representatives that the cheque had cleared I withdrew the funds and gave them to Wes.  He took the money and then we made a plan to hang out later that night.  He dropped by my place in the late afternoon and we hung out for a bit.  The next day we hung out again.  And the next...

Tuesday morning I knew the cheque was not going to go through.  I can't say here how I found that out but I did - the cheque came back NSF on Friday.  Tuesday morning Wes called me.  I didn't want him to know that I knew about the cheque yet.  He dropped by my house and I said I had to leave to go to the states.  I think he must have felt my energy shift and I saw a new attitude from him.  He looked around my place and said to me, 'You really shouldn't leave all your valuables out.  Someone could easily kick in your door and steal them'.  I walked him out so I could get his license plate number.  As soon as he left I went back to my house and checked my door again.  I went to my car and got in.  As I looked in my rear view mirror I could see that he had just driven up to the next block and pulled in front of another car.  I wasn't going to the states but I left and went and got a coffee.  I called my police officer friend and asked her what I should do.  She told me to call the non-emergency line and report what had happened. I went home and was not even home 2 minutes when Wes texted me 'not impressed'.  Had he been watching my house?  I still did not want him to know that I knew about the cheque so I called him and said I had decided to not go to the states and we could hang out earlier if he wanted.  He seemed satisfied with that.  I hung up and called the police.

Wednesday morning I texted him and told him I knew the cheque wasn't going through.  He wanted to know how I knew anything at 7:30 in the morning.  I told him he could read about how I knew in the police report.  I was not about to give him any information that he could use to better his scam the next time.  He told me he would look into the issue with his bank.  He called me later and told me that a client of his had bounced a cheque and that he would fix it as soon as possible.  I started researching him.  I found an article about him doing something similar in Kamloops and going to jail for it.  I searched his court records (see how to do this in previous blog posts) and saw pages of fraud charges.  I realized what type of individual I was dealing with.  He called me and said he would sell one of his vehicles to pay me back.  I knew it was a lie but I told him I appreciated him keeping in touch.  Then he asked me if we could still have fun together.  Really?  No, really?  I told him he was the most interesting person I had ever met - he took that as a compliment but that is not how I meant it.  At all.

Friday when the cheque came back NSF I sent him a demand for payment letter from my lawyer.  For days he kept in contact saying he was working on paying me. I would text and ask about a payment and was met with responses such as 'want some dick?' - Ummm.... no thanks!  He had a lot of comments along that nature. Then he said he had a payment for me.  I told him to come by my place while I was working and I would come out to get the money.  I didn't expect him to actually show up.  He stalled for hours and finally at almost midnight he showed up at my house.  At that point I didn't feel too threatened by him so I let him in.  He admitted that he had scammed me for money saying that he had got in trouble with his bank and he was sorry that he had thrown me under the bus to fix his problem.  He held my hand and asked if he could just have one hug or one kiss.  I asked him to leave and he did.  He called saying he missed me and wanted to spend time with me again.  I asked him to fix the money problem he had caused me and we'd talk about it, but I definitely had no intentions of ever having any contact with him again after he paid me back.

Days on end of promises to pay, rude sexual messages and getting the run-around.  He would text me late at night asking if I was home and if he could see me.  Finally I decided to completely cut off contact with him.  I sent him a message saying that I wanted zero further contact and it would be my pleasure to let everyone I could know exactly the type of person he is.  (And that's when I started this blog) I got calls from the casino.  I got random texts from weird numbers. Then he texted asking why I was ignoring him.  My last contact with him was 'contact my lawyer if you have money for me'.  That was about 4 weeks ago.  I haven't heard from him since.  While spreading the word about him I found a friends ex-wife had been scammed by him almost 20 years ago.  I found a friend of a friend who was scammed by him at a party a few years ago.  I started to get very angry that he had been getting away with this for so long.  Then I really started doing some investigating and have posted my findings in previous blog posts here.  And now I feel like my efforts are paying off.  I have heard from numerous past victims of Wes De Vries and have heard how he has negatively affected their lives.  If they can find this information I am putting out there on him then hopefully new potential victims are googling him and finding this information too.

It's not easy to admit that I was scammed.  I definitely feel like a fool.  But I am happy to put my embarrassment and stupidity on display if it will help save even one more woman from falling victim to him.  If more people had done this before maybe I would've found some information that would have saved me from being scammed.  So I will do my best to make sure that when someone is looking up Wes De Vries they can find out my experience with him and use the tools I have shown here in this blog to discover more about him and hopefully make the decision to avoid him.  And hopefully those of you who read this will pass on this information as well.

All this will make a great chapter in my book one day...

And a special message to Hurricane Wes - you obviously thought I was as stupid as the one dumb decision I made to cash a cheque for you... guess now you have found out that I am not.  I can't make you pay me back the money you stole from me... I can't make the police make you a priority.... But what I can do.. what I've done already... is make a small dent in your persona that you put out into the world.  And hope that it makes a difference... hope that people heed the warning about you.  It's been my pleasure.  Lisa



For more information on him please see the attached links:

http://canlii.ca/t/1hm8f

http://www.kamloopsnews.ca/article/20090814/KAMLOOPS0101/308159996/-1/KAMLOOPS/con-man-couldn-146-t-talk-his-way-out-of-jail




Saturday 29 June 2013

Mistakes

“We all make mistakes, have struggles, and even regret things in our past. But you are not your mistakes, you are not your struggles, and you are here NOW with the power to shape your day and your future.” 
 Steve Maraboli, Unapologetically You: Reflections on Life and the Human Experience

I've been thinking about how people may perceive me...  They might see me and only see the mistake I made.  I guess this is a fear that most victims have.  I know that I made a mistake.  I know that in this instance I was a bad judge of character.  I have judged people for falling victim to scams before.  How could they not have seen what was so obviously a con?  And then this happened....

Now I know what it feels like to be on that side of the equation.  How did I not see Wes for the con man he is? It definitely made me question my own instincts....  I have spent a lot of time thinking about how this could have happened to me.  I haven't come up with any answers yet other than that Wes is ridiculously good at pretending he is genuine.  

I am hoping that people will judge me more on how I have dealt with the aftermath of this whole experience.  I have taken what was an embarrassing and expensive mistake and turned it into an opportunity to warn others and hopefully they won't make the same mistake I did.  I have met many amazing people in the process and so far I have only encountered love and support.  As awful as my experience with was with Wes it has definitely shown me what a strong person I am and how many amazing people I have in my life.  

If you or someone you know has been scammed by Wes De Vries I would like to hear from you.  Please email me at wesscammedmetoo@hotmail.com.  It is so important that you know you are not alone in this and I would like to help support you as you rebuild your trust in yourself.   

Wednesday 26 June 2013

How do we get justice?


The more people I come across who have had Wes in their lives, even if it was just for a short period of time like mine, the more I want to make sure that he is brought to justice.  This started out because he scammed $2700 from me in April 2013 but in talking with other victims of his I have realized that I am actually one of the luckier ones.  Others may have lost more money, but the victims most affected by him are the ones who were emotionally involved with him.  I imagine that the feelings I have must be multiplied; shattered trust in myself and in others, a sense of betrayal, not telling people for fear of judgement and criticism.  I feel like I should have recognized what was going on and I blame myself for being too trusting and naive.  I never think of myself as gullible or someone easily fooled so it really did surprise me that I got scammed.  But I am not going to be too hard on myself and others who were scammed by him shouldn't either.

He has spent the last 25 years of his life perfecting his scam.  He knows exactly what to say to make you feel comfortable.  He is superficially charming and yet slightly domineering.  He is just average enough that you put your guard down.  He is an expert liar and doesn't seem to feel any remorse or guilt for the destruction he has caused his victims.  He seems to have an innate ability to find the weakness in people and uses these weaknesses for his own benefit through deceit, intimidation, manipulation and takes pleasure in doing so.  As one victim told me, 'he is the Ted Bundy of financial fraud'.  I am not even sure what justice looks like in this case... Wes De Vries in jail doesn't seem like enough.  Even if he was to somehow fix all the financial ruin he has caused the emotional scars left behind are deep and will be very hard for some to overcome.  I guess that is why I have become so passionate about putting his name out there and exposing him for the con man he is.  I feel the pain of these other victims and I realize how close I was to having been drawn in further and am thankful I have strong and supportive people in my life to help me though this.  I really would like to see his spree of destruction stopped and give his victims some peace.  My money is gone and there is no reason for me to be putting in so much time and energy putting his name out there except to warn potential victims.  I hope this blog is working and I hope it's making it harder for him to scam other people.  I will end today's post with a quote; to have an innate They seem to have an innate ability to find the weakness in people, and are        The aggravating factors in this matter are that Mr. Devries is a predator and a chronic recidivist. He has engaged in repeated, ongoing, premeditated criminality which commenced almost immediately after his release from custody for similar offences - the honourable Judge J.C. Challenger

 


Tuesday 25 June 2013

25 victims and counting....

 This hasn't been easy for me.  I am a fairly strong person but admitting that I was scammed and publishing the huge mistake I made for all to see has been taxing on me.  I am oddly okay with the money being gone - I've never been someone who lived my life based on money or material things.  But the part of this that has really stuck with me and bothers me is the psychological games he plays with his victims.  I have knowledge of at least 25 victims over the past 10 year period.  I have spoken with many past victims of Wes' since starting this blog and the theme is always the same.  After he steals your money he tries to convince you that he wants to change and that he has guilt and remorse for what he has done and will pay you back.  What I have noticed is that the people he picks to prey upon all have amazingly giving hearts and for awhile believe his story.  Smart women who then realize they have been robbed not only of their money but of their trusting natures.  It is hard when you have been taken advantage of to trust yourself again.

I have been thinking lately about how his children will feel when they see this blog someday.  I feel bad for them.  For those of you that know me, you know that children are a main focus in my life and I would hate to do anything that might cause them pain.  All I can hope is that by me writing this blog and informing people about Wes that it causes him to seek some help and stop his 20+ year run of victimizing people.  He hasn't learned any lessons in jail because the moment he is out he starts scamming people again.  I am not sure there is any therapy or consequence that will cause him to change his ways but I hope for his childrens' sakes that eventually he does.

He seems to have a lot of friends around town.  I am not sure if these people are aware of his scams or not.  But if they are, and they think that it just doesn't effect them and that he is otherwise a good guy, one day he will get desperate enough to screw them over too.   The pattern has been that the closer he is to a person the more he has scammed them.  You might be thinking that myself and the other people scammed by him deserve it in a way for being so stupid.  I guess that's true to a point - he is a master manipulator and most of his victims have very public careers and they are too embarrassed to reveal that they were taken by him.  Unfortunately he relies on that and has flown under the radar for a very long time.  When he does go to jail for his crimes he shows his true colors by returning to scamming people so quickly after release.  He is 43 years old and has had the same behaviour pattern for 25 years now.  Some people are capable of change but he hasn't proven that at all yet.  Here is an excerpt from a judges statement about that - you can see the full report at http://canlii.ca/t/1hm8f ;





[36]      Mr. Devries' criminal history commences in 1989 which, by my calculation, would be the beginning of his career as an adult criminal. It is unbroken since 1989. There are only two years where no convictions are registered, one of which he was in jail. By my count, there are 40 fraud, forgery and false pretence related convictions. There are 18 further property related offences, including thefts, possession of stolen property, including possession and theft of credit cards and obtaining credit by fraud. In addition, there are nine assaults, threatenings or harassment convictions. There is an obstruct a peace officer, in addition to the one he has pleaded guilty to; possession of a prohibited weapon; escaping lawful custody; several breaches of probation; two breaches of parole; and failures to appear.

[37]      He has also had the benefit of a conditional sentence order imposed in August of 2001. That conditional sentence was terminated in January of 2002. He spent 590 days in custody.

[38]      Of significance is that on April 16th of 1999 he received 27 months custody in relation to 14 counts of fraud and one breach of probation. There was a 15-month sentence imposed concurrently at that time, but he was also placed on probation for two years. So as of April 16th, 1999, then, for four years following, until April of 2003, he would have either been in jail serving a sentence for 14 counts of fraud and/or on probation. On August 8th, 2001, as I have indicated, he received a two-year conditional sentence order, again with respect to fraud over $5,000. That conditional sentence order was breached and he went back into custody. On June 11th of 2002, he was again convicted of four counts of fraud and received 10 months on each charge concurrent. He was released, as I understood the evidence, February 6th, 2003 and he was recommitting offences within a week. The first date he is alleged to have made contact with some of these victims is at Whistler in early February.

Monday 24 June 2013

Where Wes De Vries trolls....

I know there is some confusion about this blog - all mentions of his name including making it his blog are to ensure that it comes up when he is googled.  I have been writing about my experience with him and including a lot of information I have acquired along the way.  If you or someone you know has been scammed by him as well please contact me at wesscammedmetoo@hotmail.com


In the 6 weeks since I have been scammed I have talked to numerous other women scammed by Wes De Vries.  Places where they met him include online, pof, craigslist, coffee shops, restaurants, clubs, through friends.... basically anywhere you can meet someone.  He has ties to Vancouver, Kerrisdale, Yaletown, Coquitlam, New West, Nanaimo, Victoria, North Vancouver, Squamish, Whistler, Kamloops, the Okanagan, Toronto, Montreal....

Please warn all the women in your life about him. The next victim could be your friend, your sister, maybe even your mother... I have knowledge of at least 25 victims from the last 10 years and he has been in jail for a lot of that time so he works fast when he is out on the loose.

Thought I would include an excerpt from a judge's statement in 2004 as to why she was sentencing Wes De Vries to 5 1/2 years.  You can see the whole document at this link if you would like;

http://canlii.ca/t/1hm8f


[16]      Count 5 involves S.P. When they were on their second date he started his ruse, wanting a cheque deposited. She refused. He attended at her bank, behind her back, and made the deposit. He returned to the bank and deposited a second cheque without her knowledge. She suffered a $3,574 loss.
[17]      With respect to Count 6, this involves A.F. Again, two cheques ended up being deposited to her account on the ruse that he had no access to his bank over the weekend. Again, as I understood the facts, this was a dating kind of relationship. She suffered a loss of $6,373.
[18]      As to Count 7, these are the theft of cheques of C.S. They went out for dinner and Count 8 involves the fact that when they were on their way, they were stopped by the police and Mr. Devries gave a false name to the police because he believed, according to a later statement, there would be warrants out for his arrest. During the course of his contact with Ms. S., he stole cheques from her residence.
[19]      Counts 9 and 10 involve Ms. S.G. These two knew each other from high school. They agreed to meet for coffee. They dated for a couple of weeks. He deposited a cheque to her account, again saying that he had lost his bank card. Then a second cheque was deposited. He refused to give Ms. G. her card back. She then determined her American Express card had been stolen. She suffered $8,500 in loss relating to her debit card and $1,500 on her AmEx, for a total loss of $11,839.63.
[20]      Count 11 involves cheques taken from a G.G. Mr. Devries, in his statement, said that he had found those in the garbage.
[21]      Count 12 involves L.E. Again, he met Ms. E. over the Internet. They met up in person. He gave her the line that he had been audited with respect to child support and needed to use her bank account. He defrauded her of $3,940.
[22]      Count 13 involves Mr. Devries stealing L.N.'s cheques.
[23]      Count 14 involves a C.P. Again, they met over the Internet. After dating him, she discovered her bank card missing and determined two cheques had been deposited to her account. She was defrauded of $3,875.
[24]      Count 15 involves R.C. They met at a coffee bar. Eventually he talked her into depositing a $2,700 cheque. Apparently he told her it was guaranteed good. She then went to visit him at his hotel. She had worked a night shift and took a nap. During the course of this, he took her debit card. He said it was to refund some purchases they had made after he had deposited the cheque. In any event, he warned her not to contact the police, that it would only make things worse, and that he had a lot of connections. He defrauded Ms. C. of $5,242.72.
[25]      Count 16 and 17 involve S.B. He met Ms. B. just after his release from custody at Whistler. They had a long-distance relationship. They met up again at Whistler, at which time he stole her credit card. He spent about $6,000 on her card before it was frozen. He then convinced her that he would pay her back. She continued to see him until she found out he had stolen yet a second credit card from her. Her total loss was $8,100.
[26]      Count 18 involves another romantic relationship with a L.L. He described that he was having a dispute with his wife. He then stole Ms. L.'s debit card and deposited three cheques to her account, causing her a $7,000 loss.
[27]      Count 19 involves the cheques of L.T., which he stole and later used to make false deposits. In fact, Mr. Devries actually paid Ms. T. back $500, which was originally her loss.
[28]      In Count 20, he used Ms. T.'s card to attempt to negotiate a fraudulent Lotto cheque. There was no loss. He was not successful.
[29]      Count 21 involves D.B. Again, they met over the Internet. They had a date. He gave her the story that he could not use his account because he was being audited for child support. He talked her into depositing cheques. They went shopping and he took cash. He also stole her cheques. She suffered a $1,000 loss.
[30]      Count 23, involves B.H. They met and had a date. He told her he forgot his wallet in a bar. She gave him her card and PIN number. He supposedly used it at the 7-Eleven and once for a business licence. Instead, she found out he had bought a flat screen television and other items. She suffered a $9,500 loss. What is interesting is that, in fact, some of Ms. H.'s money went to seduce, if I can use that term, the complainant on Count 16 in this matter.
[31]      There are 23 victims total in Mr. Devries' most recent spree. Fourteen of these victims have suffered a total loss of $85,316.35. The Crown is seeking restitution for each of them under s. 738 of the Code.

Saturday 22 June 2013

Wes De Vries - I'm gonna call him 'Hurricane Wes'

Hurricane Wes - Comes into your life in a flash and leaves just as quick (if you're lucky).  Leaves behind a trail of devastation...  Your world has been turned upside down and you can't figure out where to start to rebuild.  But you do rebuild... And make yourself stronger and less vulnerable to the next storm...  Batten down the hatches ladies because Wes De Vries is out there right now, trying to knock down your defenses and if you let him in, even a tiny bit, he will spin you around in his hurricane of lies and leave you a huge mess to clean up afterwards.

Thursday 13 June 2013

How to check out someone's history

If you have met someone named Wes Devries/ De Vries or anyone that you are not sure of and would like to find out more about them here is a small how-to.

In BC you can go to https://eservice.ag.gov.bc.ca/cso/index.do and do an e-search.  (In other areas just google how to find court records in your area)  Type in the persons name - look under both civil and traffic/criminal.  You will find their history of court proceedings and it is almost as good as finding out their criminal record.  On the far left you can click to view most of the traffic/criminal court records but for some records you will need to pay to find out more information on the charges, etc..  You can contact your local police agency if you are really concerned.  When I reported mine they asked me for a description of him and his birthdate to confirm it was the right person.  After confirming they told me that they are aware of him and what he has been doing but that I should pursue him in small claims court.  In Vancouver there is an exorbitant amount of fraud and this criminal knows that and how to work the system so following through with small claims is almost pointless, there is very little chance of ever seeing my money again.  Lesson learned, the hard way once again.  Also try googling the person with any other references you have on them, like where they grew up or other relatives names.  Also, if you know where they work google it, see if it exists, see if they actually work there.  If someone talks about how they cheat by cutting corners or doing under the table work you need to dig deeper and realize that they might be shady in other ways too.

I am hoping that putting this info out there helps even one person not get scammed... I ignored warning signs and Wes is very charming and gives the impression that he used to be a bad guy but he is turning his life around - this is not true.  In my opinion he is a sociopath and is very good at mimicking feelings and trying to fit into whatever you need/want him to be.  He doesn't care about the hardships he causes his victims.   It's sadistic and cruel and he thinks because he has my money that he has won something.. but he really hasn't.  Guess he underestimated how much I would fight for justice and even if it means me never seeing a penny of my money I will keep warning people and keep spreading the word about him and his scams.  I am a good person and the only thing I did wrong was to be too trusting and too focused on seeing the good in him.  I saw what I wanted to see because I thought he was fun and nice and he made me feel special.  But I won't make that mistake again.... And I hope that if you are reading this because you met Wes and are involved with him or thinking about getting involved with him that you do your own research and really find out who he is before you give him any money or any tiny piece of your heart.  He doesn't deserve either of them.  I hope you don't have to go through what I have been going through.  I hope that you read this warning and you realize that all those little signs that your gut was telling you were right and you get as far away from him as you can.