Mortgage Fraud
‘Victims of Syndicated Mortgage Investments’ fight back against regulator and the Law Society of Ontario
Toronto (September 16, 2019) – The collective ‘Victims of Syndicated Mortgage Investments’ (VOSMI) demand further investigations in the conduct of their lost syndicated mortgage investments. After, they were poorly informed about the potential risks that come with...
Almost a quarter of millennials think it’s okay to lie on mortgage applications, according to Equifax survey
Toronto (September 9, 2019) – The results of the most recent Equifax survey suggest that nearly a quarter of Canada’s millennials (23 per cent) think, it’s okay to lie about their income on mortgage appications. That is almost double the amount of the general...
Mortgage and vehicle sale fraud brings remorseful fraudster five-year prison term
Calgary (July 25, 2019) – Giovanni Bartolotti has been sentenced to five years imprisonment and to pay restitution of $161,665 for mortgage and vehicle sale fraud. Crown prosecutor Steven Johnston and defense counsel Peter Hoare offered a joint submission to the Court...
Alleged ‘shadow’ mortgage broker implicated in dozens of shady deals
Jan. 9, 2018 (courtesy of CBC.ca)- B.C. financial authorities have identified a woman accused of acting as a 'shadow' mortgage broker by feeding altered tax documents to licensed professionals on behalf of dozens of people who wouldn't otherwise qualify for loans. The...
Edmonton man charged in $5.5 million Ponzi scheme
July 24, 2018 (Courtesy of CBC.ca) - Edmonton police say they have uncovered a multi-million dollar Ponzi scheme involving hundreds of fraudulent mortgage loans. Police allege Timothy Carruthers facilitated 257 fraudulent bridge mortgage loans worth a total of $5.5...
Allegations of inflated property values at centre of RCMP syndicated mortgage fraud investigation
July 19, 2018 (Courtesy of CBC.ca) -Inflated property values and the promotion of non-qualifying investments as being RRSP-eligible are some of the key allegations made by the RCMP in a search warrant application it filed to authorize an April raid on six Toronto-area...
Alberta RCMP lay charges in multimillion-dollar fraud case
May 29, 2018 (Courtesy of the Canadian Press) - RCMP have arrested and charged two people in a multi-million dollar fraud case involving hundreds of investors in Alberta. Investigators say two people in Calgary that operated a company called Base Finance Ltd. raised...
Mortgage firm that raised funds for Fortress halts operations: FMP advises clients it is surrendering brokerage licence after several developments that have had negative impact
April 27, 2018 ( Courtesy of Globeandmail.com) - A mortgage brokerage firm that raised millions from investors to finance projects for Fortress Real Developments Inc. has notified clients that it is going out of business. FMP Mortgage Investments Inc. sent a letter to...
Fortress used a third of investors’ money for commissions, fees, new documents show
April 24, 2018 (Courtesy of Globeandmail.com) - More than one-third of the money raised from investors to provide syndicated mortgage loans for Fortress Real Developments Inc.'s building projects was paid out as cash commissions to salespeople and as consulting fees...
RCMP raid 6 locations in GTA as part of syndicated mortgage fraud investigation
April 16, 2018 (Courtesy of cbc.ca)The RCMP raided six properties in the Greater Toronto Area Friday morning as part of an ongoing investigation into syndicated mortgage fraud. Police would not confirm what company or companies the locations searched are tied to, but...
RCMP Lays Fraud Charges in Real Estate Scam
March 27,2018 - The National Division RCMP Sensitive and International Investigative Section has arrested and charged two Mississauga, Ontario residents, 71-year-old Wajid Ali Khan and 48-year-old Nadeem Imtiaz Ahmed, with false pretense and fraud. Exact charges are...
Alleged key players charged in $17-million Project Bridle Path mortgage fraud investigation
Missing lawyer Golnaz Vakili, linked to the “sophisticated and complex” mortgage fraud investigation dubbed “Project Bridle Path,” has returned to Canada and will be a witness in the case, police confirmed. March 8, 2018 (Courtesy of the Toronto Star) - Toronto...
Four arrested in ‘sophisticated’ Toronto mortgage fraud
March 6,2018 (courtesy of CTVnews.ca) - Toronto police have arrested four people in what they are calling a “sophisticated and complex” mortgage fraud investigation involving high-end properties in the city. The police service’s financial crimes unit says the...
Accused murderer Steve Bragg facing unrelated fraud charge
Steve Bragg was already in jail awaiting trial, charged with the second-degree murder of Victoria Head, when he was handed an unrelated charge for defrauding a woman two months before Head's killing. Bragg is accused of killing Head, 36, in November. Her body was...
‘Dishonest and fraudulent’: Pair fined $50k in mortgage broker ‘fronting’ case
B.C.'s Registrar of Mortgage brokers says he hopes hefty fines issued against a pair of B.C. men will send a message to the public about the dangers of licensed brokers "fronting" business for unlicensed partners. In a decision issued last week, Dennis Percival Rego...
Former P.E.I. minister back in court in February in alleged fraud case
The case of a former Kensington area Presbyterian minister accused of fraud-related crimes in Ontario will next appear in court on Feb. 16. The case of Harold Alan Stewart, 67, and his co-accused was last in court on Jan. 12. The case had most recently been going...
Milton woman charged with mortgage fraud in Hamilton police investigation
A Milton woman has been charged with fraud after taking money in exchange for helping arrange a mortgage for a person trying to buy a house in Hamilton, Hamilton police said on Wednesday. According to police the 45-year-old suspect is not qualified or authorized to...
Mississauga homeowner stuck with $640K bill in mortgage fraud
A Mississauga woman says she fell victim to a mortgage fraud and is now stuck with a $640,000 bank lien on her home. The woman, Lukrezia Buzanic, discovered that someone had applied for and received a loan using her name and home as collateral. She received the...
Brandon Antonini, former Calgary mortgage broker, found guilty of 23 counts of fraud and theft
Brandon Antonini, 45, has been found guilty of 13 counts of fraud and 10 counts of theft in a multi-million-dollar case in which Alberta investors were duped into providing bridge financing for real estate deals. Provincial court judge Gordon Wong said Friday the...
Court of Appeal revokes lawyer John Abbott’s licence
The Ontario Court of Appeal has reinstated the revocation of John Abbott's lawyer licence in a long-running disciplinary matter that has worked its way through the courts. The ruling set aside a finding that upheld the reinstating of Abbott's licence while...
Licence revocation warranted after lawyer, John Abbott, mortgage fraud
John Abbott, a lawyer involved in mortgage fraud deserved to be kicked out of the profession as the provincial regulator had originally decided, Ontario's top court ruled on Friday. In its decision, the Appeal Court said it could not understand why the disbarment...