Fraudster renovator Jonathan Rowe ripped off $2.5 million from his mistress, friends, neighbours and many others during a decade of deceit so he could finance a lavish lifestyle, a court has heard. Rowe, 53, will be sentenced on Jan. 5 after pleading guilty Monday to two counts of defrauding the public for over $5,000 and laundering the proceeds of crime.
Payment of the entire mount for the renovation up front
One of the victims were neighbours and friends with Jonathan Rowe. They hired him to renovate their home for the arrival of a new baby and gave him $40,000 to work with. Rowe convinced the victims to pay the entire mount for the renovation, without any work having been started. He used the funds to pay off personal debts and finance the lifestyle of his family. Rowe did not seem to have any intention of using their money to renovate the property and no work was ever done.
New contractor to fix the damages to the home
In one shocking case, victims Vicki Rowan and James Davis wanted to add a second-storey addition to their Rosewood Ave. home in Mississauga in March 2007. The married couple paid Rowe $134,732 and then had to shell out $69,596 for another contractor to fix their home, court heard. Davis said he spent every night for almost a year working to rebuild his shattered home while maintaining his job as an IT project manager.
Read more about the fraudulent renovater at The Toronto Sun.
