Alberta MP added to BMO lawsuit list
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05/05/2010 10:00:00 AM
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Among the hundreds of Albertans accused in BMO's alleged mortgage fraud, the bank is now adding Calgary Conservative MP, Devinder Shory, to its hot list, according to a CBC report stating that 'Shory, a lawyer, executed legal transactions that misrepresented the true mortgage owner of at least five Calgary properties.'
Shory stated that he only learned about the lawsuit against him through reports by the media and told CBC news, "I want to state that I have not yet been served with a statement of claim. When I am, I will defend myself vigorously against these accusations. I have done nothing wrong," he said. "As the matter is before the courts, I have no further comment at this time."
In BMO's statement of claim, it alleges Shory, among several other lawyers, was involved in the "fraudulent scheme of the Malik Group" - a group accused of identifying properties to be used in fraudulent manners, as well as recruiting individuals to participate as straw buyers.
None of the allegations contained in the lawsuit has been proven in court.
Legal documents obtained by CBC news state lawyers, mortgage brokers, and four of BMO's employees were all in on one of the largest mortgage fraud cases in Canadian history. According to the documents, the fraudsters generated at least $140 million, half of which was for fake mortgages.
BMO allegedly discovered the scam after its security department noticed "irregularities" in some of their western Canada mortgages back in 2006. The bank claims the fraudsters would identify the worst home in a good neighbourhood, buy it, and use the neighbourhood's quality to leverage the property's value leading to over-inflated mortgages.
The bank claims the conmen hired "straw buyers", people who put their names down on the mortgage for a fee, and created fake income documents to make the buyers appear more affluent. From there, the group's lawyers (17 have been named in the lawsuit) allegedly drafted the necessary legal documents for the purchase to be legitimized.
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Dave Cooke on
07 May 2010 12:50 PM
This will make all mortgage professionals, banks and brokers, look bad. It should be noted that one of the companies named in the lawsuit is Alta West Realties. They are in no way related to Alta West Mortgage but the similar names will come back to bite them in the ass.
Let's hope the truth comes out quickly and the wrong-doers are punished severely
Mike from Canmore on
07 May 2010 03:15 PM
and how many of these "deals" were CMHC insured? & "appraised"
by EMILI?
Hey, Mr.Flaherty,
When are Canadian bankers & CMHC going to wake up and require
physical inspections or appraisals on ALL the properties they finance?
Maybe the neighbours, whose homes are in close proximity to these " boost & flip"
properties should sue BMO/CMHC for their newly inflated property taxes caused by
increased assessment values caused by a the inactions of the lender/insurer.
JP on
07 May 2010 06:03 PM
This MP guy should step down and admit his wrong doing. He probably misrepresented himself to his riding as well.
SP on
14 May 2010 05:30 PM
What about people who bought a house for much more than its worth and have not foreclosed out of goodness but are having trouble making the payments. Is the bank going to look afterthem or just turn their face away because they have not lost the money yet. They only cry fraud if they loose money but if public looses money then who is going to look after them. Specially when elected MP's are invloved too. Shameless people and banks...
Accountability on
15 Jun 2010 12:01 PM
Why arent the people who take off with the profit of the overinflated mortgages being held accountable (the "seller")? CMHC should be going after the brokers & lawyers who completed these transactions because they are more than likely the ones responsible for the falsified documents and approval of these inflated mortgages.
inside on
25 Jul 2010 11:38 PM
why would a bank employee go in on this? what is their incentive ? Do they have targets they have to reach to keep their jobs? what measures do the bank have in place?
its easy to point a finger at front lne staff, however a corporation should take some element of responsibity.