Toronto cop gets house arrest for faking accidents and vehicle thefts

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A judge has sentenced a Toronto cop to house arrest for attempting to defraud insurance companies with claims for fake accident and vehicle thefts that he had actually staged.

Const. Ronald Joseph, an officer with the Toronto Police Service, pleaded guilty in Ontario’s Superior Court of Justice last fall to three counts of attempted fraud over $5,000 and one count of public mischief.

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“I find that Mr. Joseph was the lynchpin of a fraudulent scheme and motivated entirely by greed. He broke the very laws that, as a police officer, he was entrusted to enforce; this conduct represents a breach of public trust. For the reasons that follow, I conclude that a conditional sentence of two years less a day is appropriate,” Justice Andrew Pinto wrote in a recent decision.

The mischief involved misleading a fellow police officer on Feb. 1, 2020, into opening a theft investigation. The court heard Joseph and several of his associates cooked up a plan where one would falsely claim he rented a Mercedes Benz from the police officer, and that it was later stolen from a Toronto parking lot. They then staged an accident with the Mercedes to make a fraudulent insurance claim.

A March 1, 2020, attempted fraud involved reporting a tow truck stolen from Emmett Avenue in Toronto. “In reality, the tow truck had never been parked in or stolen from the area,” said the judge, noting Joseph and one of his associates had planned to make a fraudulent insurance claim over its theft.

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The second attempted fraud saw two of Joseph’s associates deliberately damage his Cadillac so they could make a fake insurance claim after it was involved in a minor collision with a delivery truck.

The third attempted fraud involved two of Joseph’s associates concocting a story about an April 29, 2020, collision in a Ford Escape rented from a numbered company he controls, the judge said. “In fact, the Ford Escape had suffered extensive damage from an August 2019 accident involving a chain of collisions with a TTC bus.”

Intended victims for Joseph’s attempted frauds, which all took place in 2020, included the Royal & Sun Alliance Insurance Company of Canada, the CAA Insurance Company, and TD Insurance.

“The fraud scheme was ultimately foiled by insurance companies, who conducted their own extensive internal investigations that identified his illegal activities, and generally resulted in pay-outs not being made,” Pinto said in his decision dated Feb. 12.

The Crown recommended Joseph deserved a conditional sentence.

His defence lawyer argued unsuccessfully for a conditional discharge and probation.

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Joseph’s lawyer told the court that a conditional sentence “would automatically disqualify Mr. Joseph from his profession as a police officer. However, a conditional discharge would give him the opportunity to advocate for his continued employment through the police professional discipline process.”

Joseph was born in Trinidad. He immigrated to Canada in 2007, where he became a citizen, said the judge. “He is married and has one child who is presently in high school. His wife works at a factory and earns minimum wage.”

He has been a TPS officer since 2008. He was suspended with pay after his 2020 arrest.

Joseph made the Ontario Sunshine List every year from 2012 until 2023, when his salary was listed as $112,120.

Joseph was suspended without pay after his sentencing, Const. Nadine Ramadan, who speaks for the TPS, said Monday in an email. “The appeal period will need to finish before we determine next steps.”

Joseph provided the court with three letters of support from his Hindu mandir, or temple, and other religious organizations. “The letters describe Mr. Joseph’s volunteerism at the mandir where he assists congregants and has made a $4,000 financial contribution.”

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Joseph “apologized for his criminal conduct and stated that it will never happen again,” said the judge. “I accept that Mr. Joseph has expressed some remorse for his conduct.”

He has “engaged in pro-social behaviour through his volunteer work with religious organizations,” Pinto said.

“He is the breadwinner for his family and contributes financially to his mother in Trinidad. If Mr. Joseph receives a (conditional sentence), he will face collateral consequences such as being unable to continue as a police officer, a profession that he has enjoyed for 17 years. At 52, he will likely have difficulty finding similarly remunerative employment.”

The companies Joseph tried to defraud “state that insurance fraud significantly impacts all Canadians by driving up costs and leading to higher insurance premiums.”

Joseph will serve part of his conditional sentence at his Etobicoke home, said the judge. “He shall be under house arrest subject to GPS monitoring.”

After 12 months, his house arrest will be lifted but the GPS monitoring will continue, and he’ll be subject to a curfew for six months, Pinto said. “For the final period of six months less a day, his curfew and GPS monitoring are lifted.”

In December of 2023, Joseph was found not guilty on five counts of fraud relating to the tow truck industry.

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