Several Winnipeg-area meat vendors lose thousands to man posing as restaurant owner

A family-owned business in West St. Paul is speaking out after a man posing as a restaurateur allegedly used cheques from closed bank accounts to purchase meat. Now, they’re out thousands of dollars in product — and they aren’t the only ones who’ve taken a hit.

“So basically, he called first, said he owned a couple of restaurants, and that his supplier had shorted him meat for the weekend,” said Michelle Mansell, manager of Frigs Natural Meats.

Mansell says that, at first, the man didn’t raise any red flags. She explains that placing a large order and paying by cheque is fairly standard for their industry.

“At that point it was about $1,600 or $1,700 worth of meat,” said Mansell. “Ribeyes, New Yorks, prime ribs — and we packed it all for him. He gave me all his documents.”

The man later returned to purchase another $1,000 worth of meat from Michelle’s mother, the store owner. He then placed a third large order, which made Michelle suspicious.

“I go into the bank and, of course, his cheque has been returned — and it’s a closed account,” said Mansell. “So not even NSF. It was written on a closed account. When I called the bank, they told me it had been closed three years ago.”

“My total is $1,912.36,” said Mike Watson, owner of Central Products and Foods Sausage Makers.

Watson shared a similar experience. He claims the same man came into his store twice, using cheques to make purchases totaling nearly $2,000.

“Unfortunately, they came back: account closed. Since then, we’ve found out he wrote these cheques all over town,” said Watson.

Watson says he’s spoken to other local business owners and believes over a dozen vendors may have been affected.

Winnipeg police have confirmed that an arrest has been made and that the investigation is ongoing. However, CityNews is not releasing the suspect’s name, as no charges have been laid at this time.

As for Mansell, she knows she’s unlikely to recover the lost money — but says it’s the betrayal that hurts the most.

“I genuinely thought I was helping someone with their business, only to find out that I wasn’t — and that he doesn’t even own any businesses,” said Mansell. “So yeah, it hurt a lot. It makes me not want to trust people.”