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Internet scam to con big game hunters nets Albertan stiff penaltyAn Alberta man's scheme to con big game hunters online has landed him in jail for six months. He also has to pay back all the money he scammed from 24 hunters in the U.S. and Canada. Between March 2003 and April 2004, Stephen Parragh of Swan Hills advertised bogus guided big game hunting opportunities in Alberta over the Internet. Parragh is not a licensed professional hunting outfitter-guide. He simply kept the $22,052 in deposits sent to him by 22 American and two Canadian hunters. Under Alberta 's Internet Sales Contract Regulation , a supplier must refund money within 15 days of cancellation of a contract. Parragh recently pleaded guilty in Stony Plain provincial court to 12 counts under the Fair Trading Act and three charges under the Wildlife Act - the result of a joint investigation by Alberta Sustainable Resource Development and Alberta Government Services. In addition to his six-month jail sentence, Parragh was ordered to make restitution to the 24 hunters and is prohibited from conducting any guiding or outfitting activity in Alberta for 10 years. Co-accused Donna Midwinter, also of Swan Hills, pleaded guilty to one count under the Wildlife Act for providing false information on a hunter-host appliation. Midwinter was fined $2,300 and also prohibited from conducting any guiding or outfitting activity in Alberta for 10 years. If you have information about a wildlife crime, please call the 24-hour Report A Poacher line toll-free at 1-800-642-3800. Anyone who provides information that leads to resource-related charges may be eligible for a reward - callers can remain anonymous. To read the Alberta government news release about the Parragh case, click here: http://www.gov.ab.ca/acn/200611/20770C8644E11-D5C3-0649-35BB8DBED5C3BEF9.html |
