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Calgary man charged with fraud for offering fake firearms training out of his home

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Police vehicles are seen at Calgary Police Service headquarters on April 9, 2020. A man has been charged after Calgary police allege he was running a fake firearms training course out of his home. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh

CALGARY — A Calgary man has been charged after police allege he was running a fake firearms training course out of his home.

Calgary police say in a news release that Bradley Keith Bell offered private training between January and June, while posing as an ex-military veteran.

Victims told police they thought they were registering to complete the course with a certified instructor.

They allege Bell provided safety booklets and gave firearms handling instruction, before being asked to complete a Canadian firearms safety exam as the final step.

Police say the victims provided payment, personal information and photographs but were never officially certified because Bell isn't an instructor.

A search warrant on his northwest Calgary home in late August found ammunition, documentation, photographs and personal information belonging to the victims.

Bell, 36, has been charged with four counts of failure to comply with a release order and one count of fraud under $5,000. He was to appear in court Wednesday.

"This type of fraudulent firearms training poses a risk to the public and we are thankful through our investigations we were able to stop this individual from deceiving more victims," Acting Sgt. Steve Lynch of the firearms team said in a news release.

"We encourage anyone who may have been a victim of this type of falsified training to come forward to police."

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 14, 2022.

The Canadian Press

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