A Toronto man has been accused of constructing a double-ended rental scam in a trendy downtown neighbourhood.
It’s alleged that Mike Lemke, 33, has ripped off multiple landlords and prospective tenants for tens of thousands of dollars in unpaid rent and cash deposits.
The landlords accusing Lemke state that, when he’s confronted he’s often evasive and aggressive, often remaining in the condos for months as the process of evicting him moves through the Landlord and Tenant Board of Ontario.
In one case that’s been accounted for (but there could be others) Lemke advertised a bedroom for rent in the unit he was in the process of being evicted from. This was done without permission, and he allegedly took cash deposits from prospective renters, only to pull back and state that the room was no longer for renter, just days before the supposed move-in date.
In at least one case the deposit, which exceeded $2,000, has not been returned.
The activity led two of his former landlords to put up posters of him in the area in an attempt to gather more information.
One of the renters who went to police, Jessica Lemieux, said an officer told her there was nothing they could do since Lemke returned her deposit.
Lemieux, 29, is a legal assistant and sent Lemke a carefully worded letter, based on advice from lawyers, instructing him to return her deposit within 72 hours. He did so.
But Lemieux worries that not everyone who dealt with Lemke had the wherewithal to get their deposits back.
Read the full story over at the CBC.
