The Law Society of British Columbia, after four years of
investigations, recently approved $32.5 million in payments to cover a
multimillion-dollar real estate fraud case involving a Vancouver lawyer. The
high-profile case involved transactions between 1998 and 2002 and affected
hundreds of victims in the scheme. Other cases across the country include:
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In Alberta, a Calgary man was convicted and sentenced in a case
involving the unlawful transfer of title and the mortgaging of a property for
almost $110,000. The fraud came to light when the rightful owner of the
property attempted to pay property taxes and was told by the City of Calgary
that he no longer owned the property. |
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In B.C., a Surrey woman pleaded guilty to mortgage fraud last
year after posing as the owner of a lot and taking out a $170,000 mortgage on
the property. The woman was ordered to repay the amount along with legal costs
incurred by the owner, a Vancouver woman. |
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In Ontario, a Mississauga, man, who, when he tried to sell his
parent’s home last year, discovered that someone had fraudulently sold the home
for $400,000. The case was resolved after $11,000 in legal fees, but the
fraudster is still at large. |
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Also in Ontario, a Brantford woman received a call from a
mortgage collector saying she was three months behind on her mortgage payments
for a home she didn’t know she owned. Later that night she also discovered that
two other properties had been mortgaged in her name, leaving her on the hook
for more than $400,000.
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| When you are the victim of real estate title fraud,
there are many items that you will have to deal with before you can return your
life to normal: |
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Repair credit rating; |
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Reclaim your identity in the case of identity fraud; |
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Incur the cost to defend your ownership of the property, which can cost tens of
thousands of dollars involving a lengthy court battle; |
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Mental distress; |
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The possibility of losing your home altogether; and
Economic loss – relying on credit cash flow, particularly for business owners
can result in significant loss. |
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