Ponoka resident steals person’s identity and buys vehicle: RCMP

Ponoka resident 35-year-old Greg Thomas Allen is charged with taking out credit cards in someone else’s name and buying a vehicle.

On Dec. 13, officers from Ponoka and Smoky Lake RCMP executed a search warrant at a residence on 54 Street and 54 Avenue in Ponoka. They found fabricated credit cards, printers with blank cheques loaded in them, documents with other people’s personal information including drivers licences, stolen property, and a firearm with an altered serial number and other weapons.

Allen was charged with identification theft, identification fraud, uttering ID in another person’s name, forgery, trafficking or possession of a forged document, possession of a prohibited firearm, possession of a prohibited weapon, careless use of a weapon, tampering with the serial number of a firearm, possession of stolen property under $5,000, and possession of instruments for copying credit cards.

Allen was taken before a justice of the peace on this and other related charges and was remanded into custody with his next court date set for Jan. 14, 2024, at the Alberta Court of Justice in Ponoka.

Police started investigating after getting a report that multiple credit cards were taken out and a vehicle was purchased under the victim’s name. Through investigation, Smoky Lake RCMP were able to identify the suspect involved in these offences as a Ponoka resident. 

“One person can cause a great deal of harm to a community,” said Sgt. Tyler Epp of the Ponoka RCMP. “Mr. Allen is a repeat offender who in this case has victimized a great deal of people. The investigation continues as we continue to locate victims.”