Alleged Deed Theft Scammers Pocket Proceeds From Mortgage On Victim's House, Say Cops; Owner Loses Home To Foreclosure, Now Faces Eviction

In Oshawa, Ontario, The Toronto Star reports:

• Police say imposters with a forged driver's licence stole Lana Morrison's home-ownership title to get a loan. Then the thieves defaulted on the loan.(1) Now, despite a pending fraud trial, a Toronto trust company wishing to recoup its money is trying to evict Morrison and take her house. The local sheriff has ordered Morrison out within two weeks, along with her 12-year-old boy, Tyrone, and their pet poodle, Peanut.

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• In April last year, in connection with the case, police laid fraud charges against two women and a man. On May 1, the Durham Region land titles department issued a notice saying "no dealings be had with the property" until the fraud case is settled.

• Two months ago, Home Trust Company went to court to seize the property anyway and the judge granted the request, the company's lawyer, Amanda Jackson, said in an email. Morrison failed to appear, Jackson said. Morrison said she was given the wrong court address and arrived 20 minutes late.

• Home Trust president Nick Kyprianou said he does not believe Morrison's hard-luck story and is not prepared to await the outcome of the fraud trial. "We can't put ourselves in a situation to lose money – interest is accruing," he said of the mortgage loan. "This could take five years."

For the story, see Oshawa mother faces eviction after alleged mortgage scam.

In other "north of the border" deed theft stories from The Toronto Star, see:

• Man, 90, off hook for loan: Court (Landmark ruling lifts $300,000 burden) ("The decision is the first of its kind in the province since a landmark Court of Appeal ruling [...]. That decision found that even a bona fide purchaser can't legally buy property from a fraudster.");

• Judge chides bank in mortgage fraud (Couple's identity stolen, home lost; TD not 'innocent victim,' judge says) ("Ontario is experiencing a "serious mortgage-fraud plague," says a judge who released a blistering decision [...] that chastised the Toronto-Dominion Bank for failing to detect a scam that left a North York couple without their home.").

Go here, Go here, Go here, Go here, Go here, and Go here for other posts related to deed or refinancing scams by forgery, swindle, power of attorney abuse, etc.

(1) Nadia Kelly, 27, Antonia Pasculli, 48, and Christopher Dewsbury, 29, face charges of fraud, conspiracy to commit an indictable offence and charges related to forging documents in connection with the case. Pasculli faces further charges including possession of a counterfeit mark. Dewsbury is also charged with forgery, intimidation and attempting to obstruct justice. DeedGammaTheft