An entrepreneur whose cryptocurrencies were allegedly scammed in 45 seconds by a Virgin Mobile employee while purchasing a new tablet has just filed a $12 million civil lawsuit against the company's parent company, Bell Mobility, which is refusing to do so , to admit some wrong.
“The tablet had been tampered with before it was sold and spyware had been installed on it, which made this possible [au fraudeur] to control it remotely,” claims Andria D'Elia in a civil lawsuit released this Tuesday at the Montreal courthouse.
Ms. D'Elia, an entrepreneur from Mirabel, explains that she was scammed three years ago when she decided to invest in cryptocurrencies. She then purchased just over half a million Bitcoins and another virtual currency. She then wanted to buy a tablet to secure her digital wallet, so she went to Place Rosemère, to a Virgin Mobile kiosk owned by Bell Mobilité.
Andria D'Elia is suing Bell and one of his employees for $12 million for fraud that allegedly caused her to lose $314,000 in Bitcoin cryptocurrency after she traded at a Virgin Mobile kiosk owned by Bell , bought an iPad tablet. Photo courtesy of Andria D'Elia. Courtesy of Andria D'Elia
“Because of Bell’s reputation, she had complete trust,” the court document states.
Spyware
On site she spoke to the kiosk manager Guillaume Veillette, against whom charges were also brought. And he then claimed that he had run out of iPad tablets so much that he had to get some from the Bell store next door. He reportedly returned 20 minutes later with the device ready to use.
When she arrived home, the woman said she wanted to connect to a legitimate cryptocurrency site, but without knowing it, she was instead redirected to a fake site where she entered her credentials only to be scammed.
“Within about 45 seconds […]An unscrupulous individual managed to steal $314,000 in Bitcoin cryptocurrency.”
She was frightened and called this theft “worthy of a spy movie” and said she returned to the kiosk where she was allegedly arrested for “intimidation and threats” after a complaint from the manager. The woman was arrested, but ultimately no charges were filed.
Investigation
Determined to find her money, the woman then conducted her investigation, including hiring the services of a computer security firm, to discover that her iPad contained spyware. She also had to retain the services of a criminal defense attorney, Me Christopher Mediati.
She was also able to obtain surveillance footage that allegedly shows the manager photographing confidential information on the kiosk's computer.
Ms D'Elia said she explained the situation to Bell, who replied that it was “more likely” she was responsible for her misfortune.
“Ms. D'Elia was just an innocent victim of this fraudulent scheme,” replied Me Damien Pellerin, who is leading the civil lawsuit.
He has therefore taken legal action to recover the lost amounts, but also to seek compensation totaling $12 million for the 14,235 hours that Ms. D'Elia says she spent trying to prove that she was indeed cheating and for all associated costs.
Unless an amicable settlement is reached, the civil lawsuit will soon be referred to the Quebec Superior Court.
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