TORONTO – Police say an American already facing charges for allegedly impersonating a Canadian deputy minister is now facing more charges for allegedly trying to defraud TD Bank of $2.5 million.
RCMP have laid eight fraud and forgery charges against Howard Leventhal, 57, of Long Grove, Ill.
The authorities allege Leventhal tried to get a $2.5-million line of credit from TD Bank in Toronto in July.
The RCMP allege Leventhal tried to secure the line of credit against seven fraudulent accounts receivables he said were owed by Health Canada to his company Neovision.
Prosecutors in the U.S. alleged earlier this year that Leventhal scammed Paragon Financial Group for US$800,000 by claiming it could collect money he said Health Canada owed to his company.
Authorities allege Leventhal assumed the identities of Health Canada representatives, including that of deputy health minister Glenda Yeates, who retired recently, as part of that alleged scheme.
According to the complaint filed in Federal Court in Brooklyn, N.Y., Leventhal assured Paragon he was providing Health Canada with “Heltheo’s McCoy Home Health Tablet.”
The device, which purportedly delivers instantaneous and detailed patient data to physicians and other licensed health-care providers, was named after Dr. Leonard McCoy of TV’s “Star Trek.”
Leventhal was arrested last month and is awaiting his court process in the U.S.
