The Toronto Police Service arrested and charged three individuals involved with fraudulently selling a property while the homeowners were out of the country, TPS stated in a press release late Friday afternoon.
Two men and one woman allegedly impersonated the homeowners of a Toronto dwelling in January to sell the property. This is known as a real estate title fraud scam.
According to police, on Thursday the suspects were attempting to access and withdraw the funds from the sale at an unnamed bank in York Region when they were arrested.
The woman is facing multiple charges including fraud over $5000, laundering proceeds of crime, personation with intent to obtain property and utter forged documents.
The two men are each facing charges of fraud over $5,000.
All three suspects are scheduled to appear in court on January 26.
The Financial Crimes Unit is still investigating and officers believe there may be more victims.
Mortgage and title fraudsters who impersonate homeowners and tenants have targeted at least 32 properties in Ontario and British Columbia, investigators and official warnings suggest.
Insurance investigator Brian King, president and CEO of King International Advisory Group, said his firm had received 30 such claims in Ontario.
They include six instances of “total title fraud” in which con artists pose as homeowners to list properties for sale.
King said title and mortgage fraud typically involve homes with low or no mortgages. After identifying such a home, the fraudsters research the homeowners to create fake identification in their name.
He said “actors” are then paid $5,000 to $10,000 to put the property on the market and seek a “fairly quick” sale with an unsuspecting buyer.
In another type of property fraud, impersonators pose as homeowners to obtain mortgages from private lenders, said King.
Compared to total title fraud, King said mortgage fraud was much “easier and quicker.”
But the potential payoff for total title fraud was much greater.
“When they sell to an unsuspecting (buyer), they get not only the mortgage amount, they get the equity amount as well,” said King.
He said total title fraud resulted in a legal “mess” that could take a year and a half for the courts to sort out.
With files from The Canadian Press.
This content was originally published here.
