Seeing Wes Devries in court today...

I had never been to court before.  I wasn't sure what to expect and I definitely was feeling uneasy about seeing Wes and how that would leave me feeling.  Almost an hour after he was scheduled to appear the big TV screen in the courtroom turned on and there was Wes, in an orange jumpsuit and his thick rimmed hipster glasses.  He sat there quietly surrounded by a grey cement background.  I had mentally prepared myself to look him in the eyes but was relieved that he was appearing via video.  I wasn't sure what he could see of the courtroom but if he could see the last row of the otherwise empty courtroom he would've seen the reporter from the Province and me. I was sitting there with a slight smirk on my face writing every detail of what was being said between the prosecutor and his lawyer.  There was not much information shared about charges and the matter was put over until Tuesday of next week.  After court, Dan and I went upstairs to the registry and got the information for the upcoming charges - 14 in all.  And I know of at least 6 others that could've been included in this set of charges but for one reason or another weren't.  Some people admitted to being scammed by Wes Devries but didn't want to report it to the police for their own individual reasons - either too embarrassed or just wanting to leave it behind them.  I completely understand that and there is definitely a part of me that wanted to crawl under a rock and hide from all of this.  But I am just not the type of person that could let this go.  Good or bad - I am 'all-in'.

Seeing Wes was oddly therapeutic for me.  I had been nervous and on edge but seeing him confined to the small space of the correction centre's video room made me feel empowered.  I helped put him there.  No designer clothes.  No stupid hats.  No gourmet meals or expensive nights out on the town using money he had scammed from people.  But the best part for me is knowing that he won't be able to get the 'rush' he says he gets from scamming while he is there. And even if it is just for a short period of time, he is off the street and unable to victimize any more people for awhile.  I think that Wes being behind bars is the only way to stop him from scamming people.  He has been to jail before for very similar crimes and has almost always gone right back to scamming as soon as he is out of jail.  Obviously the punishments that he receives for his wrongs are not enough to deter him from doing wrong again.  When he gets out this time (hopefully years from now) he will probably just change his name slightly so people can't find out what type of person he is right away and then continue his usual pattern of deceiving people for his own selfish gain.

On a positive note, I have met some very inspiring and amazing people on this journey.   Ladies - your courage in coming forward and sharing your stories with me (and the police) has provided me with the strength to continue moving ahead with it all.  You have been my support system and I never feel judged by any of you because I know that you understand how Wes uses his charms to manipulate people.  We will all be smarter and stronger women because of this experience and you have each added to my life in your own unique way.  And to the men who have come forward - I commend you.  I realize that as hard as it is for a woman to admit that she has been scammed, it is doubly hard for a man to admit that.  I know that there are many more men out there that Wes has scammed who haven't come forward and I would encourage them to rethink that.  It is super important that people are made aware of the full scope of how many different ways Wes has to scam people.  Anyone out there that has been scammed by Wes or knows someone that has been scammed by him I would still love to hear from you.

A special thank-you to Dan Fumano of The Province newspaper - without you and your coverage of this I don't think any of this would have moved forward the way it has.  You have been absolutely amazing and your continued interest and pursuit of this story has helped make people aware of Wes Devries.  Together we have all put a huge dent in his potential victim pool.  And I would like to say thank-you to the VPD for all of their hard work to make sure that the case against Wes was thoroughly investigated and resulted in 14 charges against him.  I know that the publicity didn't make that job any easier and I really appreciate all the long hours put forth.  And to L.C. - your courage to speak out and let other women know about Wes was the main reason I came forward and shared my story.  I really don't know what I would have done had I not known about Wes having scammed you.  You are my hero and I don't think you get enough credit for your bravery.  And in getting to know you as a friend since this incident your positive outlook on life is so inspiring.  Even though we met under the worst of circumstances I am so happy to have you in my life.

Thank-you again to all the amazing people in my life who have supported me through this - I know there have definitely been times when you were concerned for my safety and my well-being and you still supported me.  It has made this whole experience much easier to go through knowing how many people I have around me that love and support me.

Lisa

Arrested!

I will write a full post on this later tonight but thought I should put a link in to the article at least....

http://www.theprovince.com/news/vancouver/Serial+scammer+behind+bars+following+undercover+police/8739383/story.html

Thank-you to everyone for all the love and support during all of this.

Update on Hurricane Wes Devries

 So much has happened since the articles in The Province Newspaper;

http://www.theprovince.com/news/could+talk+fleas+messed+with+wrong+girl/8612967/story.html

http://www.theprovince.com/news/Police+mount+investigation+against+alleged+scammer/8618362/story.html

Just found this and thought I would share:

 http://bb.nsmb.com/showthread.php?p=2768370

Apparently since we have put a dent in the potential victim pool for his 'dating' scams he had to move on to other things.  Here are a few more things to keep in mind, not necessarily about Wes but in general;

- Be very careful who you allow to access your house, anyone from a new friend or potential love interest to a handyman or possible buyer of your goods from craigslist.  Once someone has access to your place they can easily assess what is valuable and where it is kept.
- Secure all bikes when leaving them unattended, even if it is for a short period of time.  I would suggest that you even lock them up when inside a secure area such as a garage
- It is ALWAYS a bad idea to do any financial favors for any reason for someone you don't know very well.  But if you happen to be so 'stupid' to do this, as I was, be aware of what your bank's policies are. Because of my ignorance in banking lingo and no clarification given by 2 different RBC reps I was scammed for $2700.


I have decided that since I have done more towards warning people about Wes Devries than I ever thought I could that it is now up to the universe to balance out all the wrongs he has done.  For awhile I felt like this whole situation was taking over my life...  and while I realize that it is going to be a super long and frustrating process until this is all concluded, my head is in such a better place than it was even a month ago.  It's hard to admit that I misjudged someone.  It was definitely hard to put my giant, costly mistake on display for everyone to judge me on.  It was hard to read the comments about how 'stupid' I am.  It was hard to forgive myself for making the mistakes I made in this whole situation.  And I will fully own those mistakes.  But I have also learned from those and in the process I have also learned a lot about myself and how strong and persevering I am.   And how many more other strong women are out there too.

Mistakes

“We all make mistakes, have struggles, and even regret things in our past. But you are not your mistakes, you are not your struggles, and you are here NOW with the power to shape your day and your future.” 
― Steve Maraboli, Unapologetically You: Reflections on Life and the Human Experience

I've been thinking about how people may perceive me...  They might see me and only see the mistake I made.  I guess this is a fear that most victims have.  I know that I made a mistake.  I know that in this instance I was a bad judge of character.  I have judged people for falling victim to scams before.  How could they not have seen what was so obviously a con?  And then this happened....

Now I know what it feels like to be on that side of the equation.  How did I not see Wes for the con man he is? It definitely made me question my own instincts....  I have spent a lot of time thinking about how this could have happened to me.  I haven't come up with any answers yet other than that Wes is ridiculously good at pretending he is genuine.  

I am hoping that people will judge me more on how I have dealt with the aftermath of this whole experience.  I have taken what was an embarrassing and expensive mistake and turned it into an opportunity to warn others and hopefully they won't make the same mistake I did.  I have met many amazing people in the process and so far I have only encountered love and support.  As awful as my experience with was with Wes it has definitely shown me what a strong person I am and how many amazing people I have in my life.  

If you or someone you know has been scammed by Wes De Vries I would like to hear from you.  Please email me at wesscammedmetoo@hotmail.com.  It is so important that you know you are not alone in this and I would like to help support you as you rebuild your trust in yourself.   

How do we get justice?

The more people I come across who have had Wes in their lives, even if it was just for a short period of time like mine, the more I want to make sure that he is brought to justice.  This started out because he scammed $2700 from me in April 2013 but in talking with other victims of his I have realized that I am actually one of the luckier ones.  Others may have lost more money, but the victims most affected by him are the ones who were emotionally involved with him.  I imagine that the feelings I have must be multiplied; shattered trust in myself and in others, a sense of betrayal, not telling people for fear of judgement and criticism.  I feel like I should have recognized what was going on and I blame myself for being too trusting and naive.  I never think of myself as gullible or someone easily fooled so it really did surprise me that I got scammed.  But I am not going to be too hard on myself and others who were scammed by him shouldn't either.

He has spent the last 25 years of his life perfecting his scam.  He knows exactly what to say to make you feel comfortable.  He is superficially charming and yet slightly domineering.  He is just average enough that you put your guard down.  He is an expert liar and doesn't seem to feel any remorse or guilt for the destruction he has caused his victims.  He seems to have an innate ability to find the weakness in people and uses these weaknesses for his own benefit through deceit, intimidation, manipulation and takes pleasure in doing so.  As one victim told me, 'he is the Ted Bundy of financial fraud'.  I am not even sure what justice looks like in this case... Wes De Vries in jail doesn't seem like enough.  Even if he was to somehow fix all the financial ruin he has caused the emotional scars left behind are deep and will be very hard for some to overcome.  I guess that is why I have become so passionate about putting his name out there and exposing him for the con man he is.  I feel the pain of these other victims and I realize how close I was to having been drawn in further and am thankful I have strong and supportive people in my life to help me though this.  I really would like to see his spree of destruction stopped and give his victims some peace.  My money is gone and there is no reason for me to be putting in so much time and energy putting his name out there except to warn potential victims.  I hope this blog is working and I hope it's making it harder for him to scam other people.  I will end today's post with a quote; to have an innate They seem to have an innate ability to find the weakness in people, and are        - The aggravating factors in this matter are that Mr. Devries is a predator and a chronic recidivist. He has engaged in repeated, ongoing, premeditated criminality which commenced almost immediately after his release from custody for similar offences - the honourable Judge J.C. Challenger

 

25 victims and counting....

 This hasn't been easy for me.  I am a fairly strong person but admitting that I was scammed and publishing the huge mistake I made for all to see has been taxing on me.  I am oddly okay with the money being gone - I've never been someone who lived my life based on money or material things.  But the part of this that has really stuck with me and bothers me is the psychological games he plays with his victims.  I have knowledge of at least 25 victims over the past 10 year period.  I have spoken with many past victims of Wes' since starting this blog and the theme is always the same.  After he steals your money he tries to convince you that he wants to change and that he has guilt and remorse for what he has done and will pay you back.  What I have noticed is that the people he picks to prey upon all have amazingly giving hearts and for awhile believe his story.  Smart women who then realize they have been robbed not only of their money but of their trusting natures.  It is hard when you have been taken advantage of to trust yourself again.

I have been thinking lately about how his children will feel when they see this blog someday.  I feel bad for them.  For those of you that know me, you know that children are a main focus in my life and I would hate to do anything that might cause them pain.  All I can hope is that by me writing this blog and informing people about Wes that it causes him to seek some help and stop his 20+ year run of victimizing people.  He hasn't learned any lessons in jail because the moment he is out he starts scamming people again.  I am not sure there is any therapy or consequence that will cause him to change his ways but I hope for his childrens' sakes that eventually he does.

He seems to have a lot of friends around town.  I am not sure if these people are aware of his scams or not.  But if they are, and they think that it just doesn't effect them and that he is otherwise a good guy, one day he will get desperate enough to screw them over too.   The pattern has been that the closer he is to a person the more he has scammed them.  You might be thinking that myself and the other people scammed by him deserve it in a way for being so stupid.  I guess that's true to a point - he is a master manipulator and most of his victims have very public careers and they are too embarrassed to reveal that they were taken by him.  Unfortunately he relies on that and has flown under the radar for a very long time.  When he does go to jail for his crimes he shows his true colors by returning to scamming people so quickly after release.  He is 43 years old and has had the same behaviour pattern for 25 years now.  Some people are capable of change but he hasn't proven that at all yet.  Here is an excerpt from a judges statement about that - you can see the full report at http://canlii.ca/t/1hm8f ;

[36]      Mr. Devries' criminal history commences in 1989 which, by my calculation, would be the beginning of his career as an adult criminal. It is unbroken since 1989. There are only two years where no convictions are registered, one of which he was in jail. By my count, there are 40 fraud, forgery and false pretence related convictions. There are 18 further property related offences, including thefts, possession of stolen property, including possession and theft of credit cards and obtaining credit by fraud. In addition, there are nine assaults, threatenings or harassment convictions. There is an obstruct a peace officer, in addition to the one he has pleaded guilty to; possession of a prohibited weapon; escaping lawful custody; several breaches of probation; two breaches of parole; and failures to appear.

[37]      He has also had the benefit of a conditional sentence order imposed in August of 2001. That conditional sentence was terminated in January of 2002. He spent 590 days in custody.

[38]      Of significance is that on April 16th of 1999 he received 27 months custody in relation to 14 counts of fraud and one breach of probation. There was a 15-month sentence imposed concurrently at that time, but he was also placed on probation for two years. So as of April 16th, 1999, then, for four years following, until April of 2003, he would have either been in jail serving a sentence for 14 counts of fraud and/or on probation. On August 8th, 2001, as I have indicated, he received a two-year conditional sentence order, again with respect to fraud over $5,000. That conditional sentence order was breached and he went back into custody. On June 11th of 2002, he was again convicted of four counts of fraud and received 10 months on each charge concurrent. He was released, as I understood the evidence, February 6th, 2003 and he was recommitting offences within a week. The first date he is alleged to have made contact with some of these victims is at Whistler in early February.

Where Wes De Vries trolls....

I know there is some confusion about this blog - all mentions of his name including making it his blog are to ensure that it comes up when he is googled.  I have been writing about my experience with him and including a lot of information I have acquired along the way.  If you or someone you know has been scammed by him as well please contact me at wesscammedmetoo@hotmail.com


In the 6 weeks since I have been scammed I have talked to numerous other women scammed by Wes De Vries.  Places where they met him include online, pof, craigslist, coffee shops, restaurants, clubs, through friends.... basically anywhere you can meet someone.  He has ties to Vancouver, Kerrisdale, Yaletown, Coquitlam, New West, Nanaimo, Victoria, North Vancouver, Squamish, Whistler, Kamloops, the Okanagan, Toronto, Montreal....

Please warn all the women in your life about him. The next victim could be your friend, your sister, maybe even your mother... I have knowledge of at least 25 victims from the last 10 years and he has been in jail for a lot of that time so he works fast when he is out on the loose.

Thought I would include an excerpt from a judge's statement in 2004 as to why she was sentencing Wes De Vries to 5 1/2 years.  You can see the whole document at this link if you would like;

http://canlii.ca/t/1hm8f

[16]      Count 5 involves S.P. When they were on their second date he started his ruse, wanting a cheque deposited. She refused. He attended at her bank, behind her back, and made the deposit. He returned to the bank and deposited a second cheque without her knowledge. She suffered a $3,574 loss.

[17]      With respect to Count 6, this involves A.F. Again, two cheques ended up being deposited to her account on the ruse that he had no access to his bank over the weekend. Again, as I understood the facts, this was a dating kind of relationship. She suffered a loss of $6,373.

[18]      As to Count 7, these are the theft of cheques of C.S. They went out for dinner and Count 8 involves the fact that when they were on their way, they were stopped by the police and Mr. Devries gave a false name to the police because he believed, according to a later statement, there would be warrants out for his arrest. During the course of his contact with Ms. S., he stole cheques from her residence.

[19]      Counts 9 and 10 involve Ms. S.G. These two knew each other from high school. They agreed to meet for coffee. They dated for a couple of weeks. He deposited a cheque to her account, again saying that he had lost his bank card. Then a second cheque was deposited. He refused to give Ms. G. her card back. She then determined her American Express card had been stolen. She suffered $8,500 in loss relating to her debit card and $1,500 on her AmEx, for a total loss of $11,839.63.

[20]      Count 11 involves cheques taken from a G.G. Mr. Devries, in his statement, said that he had found those in the garbage.

[21]      Count 12 involves L.E. Again, he met Ms. E. over the Internet. They met up in person. He gave her the line that he had been audited with respect to child support and needed to use her bank account. He defrauded her of $3,940.

[22]      Count 13 involves Mr. Devries stealing L.N.'s cheques.

[23]      Count 14 involves a C.P. Again, they met over the Internet. After dating him, she discovered her bank card missing and determined two cheques had been deposited to her account. She was defrauded of $3,875.

[24]      Count 15 involves R.C. They met at a coffee bar. Eventually he talked her into depositing a $2,700 cheque. Apparently he told her it was guaranteed good. She then went to visit him at his hotel. She had worked a night shift and took a nap. During the course of this, he took her debit card. He said it was to refund some purchases they had made after he had deposited the cheque. In any event, he warned her not to contact the police, that it would only make things worse, and that he had a lot of connections. He defrauded Ms. C. of $5,242.72.

[25]      Count 16 and 17 involve S.B. He met Ms. B. just after his release from custody at Whistler. They had a long-distance relationship. They met up again at Whistler, at which time he stole her credit card. He spent about $6,000 on her card before it was frozen. He then convinced her that he would pay her back. She continued to see him until she found out he had stolen yet a second credit card from her. Her total loss was $8,100.

[26]      Count 18 involves another romantic relationship with a L.L. He described that he was having a dispute with his wife. He then stole Ms. L.'s debit card and deposited three cheques to her account, causing her a $7,000 loss.

[27]      Count 19 involves the cheques of L.T., which he stole and later used to make false deposits. In fact, Mr. Devries actually paid Ms. T. back $500, which was originally her loss.

[28]      In Count 20, he used Ms. T.'s card to attempt to negotiate a fraudulent Lotto cheque. There was no loss. He was not successful.

[29]      Count 21 involves D.B. Again, they met over the Internet. They had a date. He gave her the story that he could not use his account because he was being audited for child support. He talked her into depositing cheques. They went shopping and he took cash. He also stole her cheques. She suffered a $1,000 loss.

[30]      Count 23, involves B.H. They met and had a date. He told her he forgot his wallet in a bar. She gave him her card and PIN number. He supposedly used it at the 7-Eleven and once for a business licence. Instead, she found out he had bought a flat screen television and other items. She suffered a $9,500 loss. What is interesting is that, in fact, some of Ms. H.'s money went to seduce, if I can use that term, the complainant on Count 16 in this matter.

[31]      There are 23 victims total in Mr. Devries' most recent spree. Fourteen of these victims have suffered a total loss of $85,316.35. The Crown is seeking restitution for each of them under s. 738 of the Code.