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.
Three people have been charged with fraud over $5,000, money laundering, conspiracy to commit an indictable offence, accessory after the fact to an indictable offence:
- Arash Missaghi, 48, of Richmond Hill
- Grant Erlick, 45, of Toronto
- Masumeh Shaer-Valaie, 48, of Richmond Hill
Arash Missaghi has been charged with fraud over $5,000, conspiracy to commit and indictable offence, accessory after the fact to an indictable offence and uttering forged documents.
Grant Erlick and Masumeh Shaer-Valaie have each been charged with fraud over $5,000, conspiracy to commit an indictable offence, accessory after the fact to an indictable offence and money laundering.
Bob Bahram Aziz Beiki, 53, of Toronto has been charged with forgery.
The police service’s financial crimes unit says the investigation, launched in the spring of 2013, was dubbed Project Bridle Path – the same name as a tony area of the city filled with multi-million-dollar mansions.According to a police news release issued Tuesday, the alleged fraudsters secured mortgages on properties that were misrepresented to the lenders and never registered.
Police said, “Individuals and companies who were introduced as owners of the properties were not in fact the real owners.”
False title insurance certificates and property insurance certificates were shown to lenders to make the transactions appear legitimate before money was released.
