Ex-Burnaby Metrotown clothing store employee charged in alleged $81K fake refund fraud

Photo: Cornelia Naylor.

Oak + Fort Granville Street location.

An ex-employee at an "attainable luxury" clothing store at Burnaby’s Metrotown mall has been charged with fraud in relation to alleged bogus refunds of more than $81,000 in merchandise.

The suspected fraud was reported to police by the store last April, according to the Burnaby RCMP.

A year later, 32-year-old Xining Yiyuan Chong was charged with one count of fraud over $5,000.

Police said the alleged scam involved “fraudulent refunds to debit cards” totalling more than $81,000.

According to the Vancouver provincial court registry, the store involved was Oak + Fort, and the alleged fraud took place between March 1 and April 21 last year.

Chong was scheduled to make his first appearance in Vancouver provincial court Monday.

Oak + Fort, which describes itself as an "attainable luxury brand," was launched in 2010, with its first brick and mortar store opening in Vancouver's Gastown, according to information on the company's website.

There are now more than 30 Oak + Fort stores in North America.