Decision coming in trial of developers accused of defrauding investors out of retirement savings

Lane Harrison · CBC News

· Posted: May 28, 2025 5:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 5 minutes ago

Years aft they mislaid tens of thousands of dollars by investing with Fortress Real Developments, respective investors are hoping to spot the company's principals recovered blameworthy of transgression fraud successful Toronto Wednesday.

Justice Daniel Moore volition present his judgement successful the judge-alone transgression fraud proceedings of Jawad Rathore and Vince Petrozza, who basal accused of misleading investors connected 2 never-realized projects: the mixed-use Collier Centre successful Barrie, Ont., and a condo operation called SkyCity successful Winnipeg. 

The charges related to syndicated mortgages, which are loans made by respective investors to screen archetypal improvement costs similar selling and zoning, with the onshore itself acting arsenic collateral. 

After 38 years arsenic a national employee, Linda Bilorosek of Burlington Ont., invested her full status savings successful the SkyCity project. Of her $63,000 investment, she mislaid astir $56,000. 

"I was a azygous genitor and it was each the savings that I had ... I was beauteous devastated," said Bilorosek, who is hoping Moore delivers a blameworthy ruling. 

"It's not going to bring backmost my money. That's not going to happen. But astatine slightest it's immoderate benignant of restitution that they person to wage for what they did," she said.

The charges the men are facing transportation a maximum condemnation of 14 years successful prison. During closing arguments successful April, the defence argued the investments' risks were made wide to those providing the loans and that Rathore and Petrozza didn't woody with investors directly, relying alternatively connected owe brokers. 

Investor forced retired of status by loss

Nikolai Chekhmatov, who lives successful Toronto, immigrated to Canada from Russia successful the precocious 1990s. It's a move helium made successful portion to unrecorded determination wherever fiscal services functioned much transparently and were good regulated by the government. 

He mislaid astir $90,000 successful the SkyCity project. Chekhmatov, who is successful his aboriginal 50s, said he feels helium got disconnected somewhat easier than others. 

"I'm devastated, but I tin someway retrieve from this," helium said. 

Barry Stevens, an capitalist from Orleans, Ont., previously told CBC News helium sunk $400,000 into a fistful of Fortress projects, including SkyCity. When Rathore and Petrozza were charged, helium said helium had mislaid truthful overmuch of his status savings that helium was forced backmost to enactment afloat time.

Nicki Peters, who besides lives successful Toronto, mislaid $100,000 successful the Collier Centre project. She said she felt "heartbroken, defeated, deceived" erstwhile it became wide that she had mislaid money.

Prosecutors allege men knew onshore was little invaluable than advertised

In closing arguments successful April, Crown prosecutors argued investors had been misled astir the worth of the onshore progressive successful their loans, which was a cardinal taxable successful the selling of the investments arsenic harmless and secure.

As syndicated owe investments are secured against land, the worth of that onshore is key, Crown prosecutors said. The worth is truthful important due to the fact that if thing goes awry with the development, the investments tin beryllium recovered by selling the land.

In making the statement that Rathore and Petrozza didn't woody with investors directly, the defence said the owe brokers had a ineligible work to guarantee the investors were alert of the risk. 

But a video entered into grounds showed Petrozza grooming brokers connected what needed to beryllium disclosed to investors successful the syndicated mortgages. Prosecutors besides said Petrozza and Rathore knew determination were spot appraisals that had little values than the sentiment of worth fixed to investors, according to interior email discussions. 

"They should beryllium recovered blameworthy of fraud connected this basis," authoritative Vallery Bayly told the tribunal successful April. 

"It's not honorable to behaviour one's concern by lying to mom-and-pop investors successful plain connection portion expecting them to untangle the precise meaning of method documents oregon travel a way of breadcrumbs to observe the truth."

Defence lawyer Gerald Chan argued that the opinions of worth that were fixed to investors were autarkic and based connected acceptable, legitimate, legally permissible methodology.

Meanwhile, defence lawyer Scott Fenton said the 2 ill-fated projects were outliers. He said of the 80 projects Fortress undertook utilizing the aforesaid financing and disclosure models, "most were successful, if not fantastically so."

He said the institution had helped 25 developers physique 5,200 residential and 1,700 commercialized units, utilizing $920 cardinal successful syndicated owe loans.