Fraud charges tacked on for man already in hot water after drug raid

By Medicine Hat News on April 4, 2025.

A man arrested in a series of drug raids last month faces new fraud charges.

Omar Farhat, 50, appeared Thursday in provincial Court of Justice at Medicine Hat to hear the charges and conduct a bail hearing.

It is alleged that he obtained and used false identification, committed fraud and theft over $5,000, and used a counterfeit government stamp for financial gain.

The last charge carries with it a sentence of up to 14 years in prison upon conviction.

Farhat was arrested in late February after police searched his Medicine Hat residence as part of regional drug trafficking investigation dubbed “Operation Momentum” by the Medicine Hat Police-ALERT investigations unit.

Searches including those of another house and vehicle turned up $185,000 worth of drugs and several weapons, according to police, who charged three people.

On Thursday, Farhat was released on bail to abide by a 24-hour house curfew, avoid several individuals and not appear at “any financial institution” in the city.

Also charged as part of Operation Momentum in early March were Abdullah Mela, 24, and Bonnie Mather, 60.