(File photo/ paNOW Staff)

By Nigel Maxwell

Court proceedings

Phone scam fraud case dropped

Sep 10, 2025 | 12:21 PM

A man and a woman from Saskatoon accused of participating in a fraud were two young permitted immigrants who were naive to what was actually occurring.

That’s according to defence lawyer Garth Bendig.

Gurshan Singh and Jasleen Kaur, who were 21 and 20 when they were arrested last year, were scheduled to face trial on Wednesday at provincial court but paNOW has learned through court records that a stay of proceedings was directed by the Crown on Sept. 3.

At the time of the incident, police had been advising the public about phone fraud where someone claims to be a family member in an emergency and asks for a large sum of money.

Bendig explained in this case two young people desperate for work responded to a Kijiji ad and were offered $100 to provide a courier type service.

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They were told to collect a loan payment.

They had no knowledge of the scam and after arrest, cooperated with police, provided full statements and gave officers access to their phones which contained a series of text messages.

The persons who hired the two young people were never found, and it’s believed they may have been watching the two accused.

Crown Prosecutor Cara Merasty told paNOW that after examining the evidence, they determined no likelihood of conviction.

When a Crown directs a stay of proceedings, they still have up to a year to bring it back to court should new evidence come to light.

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nigel.maxwell@pattisonmedia.com

On X: @nigelmaxwell