VANCOUVER (NEWS1130) – A 25-year-old former UBC student has been charged with two counts of fraud following an investigation by the Crime Reduction Unit of the Transit Police.

Betty Sze Yu Wong of Vancouver purchased numerous U-Passes from various students of four post-secondary schools and resold the passes for profit on online.

“An investigation is continuing into the people who sold to Wong and purchased U-Passes from her, with the possibility of further charges being laid against those persons” says Anne Drennan with Transit Police. “They would also face charges of fraud.”

The officer says Wong purchased “quite a number” of passes.

“We are aware of in the area of half-a-dozen [passes] that a relating to these charges,” Drennan adds.

She says all of the passes have been recovered.

“This is a problem that we are encountering fairly regularly right now, now that the school year is in full swing again” Drennan adds. “And there are a number of ongoing files.”

She says this is the first time Transit Police have laid multiple charges in a fraud case involving U-Passes.

U-Passes are a mandatory purchase, built into tuition fees, for students of educational institutions participating in the program. The price of $30 per month provides a three zone pass — normally valued at $151 per month.

The reduced fare U-passes are strictly for the legitimate use of the student participating in the program.

Drennan says when officers catch someone during a fare check using a U-Pass that is not theirs, the person typically receives a ticket.

“And they are then incurring a fine rather than a criminal charge,” she says. “But in this case, because this person [Wong] was buying and re-selling, and doing it on a multiples basis, we were able to proceed with the criminal investigation.”

Police have not released the estimated dollar value of this particular fraud. Drennan says the fraud was discovered when members of the Crime Reduction Unit discovered U-Passes for sale on Craigslist.

“I want to make sure that students recognize that this is a serious problem,” she say. “They are given a huge advantage here when they purchase a U-Pass, it’s so much cheaper.”

“This is a benefit they should take very seriously. And if they do abuse that benefit, not only do they risk losing their ability to purchase a U-Pass, they could end up facing criminal charges.”

Wong will appear in court December 14.