TORONTO — Police in Toronto say four people are facing charges after a mortgage fraud investigation lasting nearly five years.
Four men between the ages of 45 and 53 are due in court Tuesday on charges including fraud, conspiracy, forgery and money laundering.
Police allege the men, who are all from the Toronto area, took part in a “sophisticated and complex” scheme involving “several high-end properties.”
According to a police statement, mortgages were to be secured on properties, but were never registered and were misrepresented to the mortgage lenders; the men pretended certain individuals and companies were the property owners when in fact they were not, and; false title insurance certificates and property insurance certificates were introduced, “to convince the legitimacy of the transactions.”
Police estimate the value of the alleged fraud at $17 million. According to the police statement, officers with the force’s financial crimes unit began investigating the alleged fraud in the spring of 2013.
With a file from HuffPost Canada
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