The rise and fall of Canada's alleged grandparent scam king

Wearing a close-fitting formal shirt, skinny jeans and achromatic leather loafers, 42-year-old Gareth West stood successful beforehand of a modest, white-walled location connected the outskirts of Montreal successful 2022 and laid retired the blueprint to get affluent done existent estate.

He said helium planned to demolish the location and crook it into a bustling bureau complex, earning millions.

“The astir palmy developers are the ones who person the top foresight,” helium said, speaking successful a promotional video.

By galore measures, West was successful. He moonlighted arsenic an amateur bodybuilder, drove costly cars, owned a yacht, travelled often and hosted parties astatine his location successful Montreal and his penthouse successful downtown Toronto.

Except West’s nationalist persona arsenic a existent property developer, cautiously crafted done years of buying flat complexes successful confederate Ontario and gathering homes successful the Montreal suburbs, was a facade.

A CBC News probe has identified West arsenic the antheral authorities accidental is down a large-scale transgression web that stole astatine slightest $30 cardinal from susceptible seniors. 

West ne'er turned the white-walled location extracurricular Montreal into bureau space. Instead, according to a U.S. indictment, helium turned it into 1 of respective telephone centres from which his alleged accomplices performed the astir prolific and lucrative “grandparent scam” successful history.

CBC News spent months tracking West’s existent property purchases, interviewing sources adjacent to him, speaking to his alleged victims and combing tribunal documents.

If you person immoderate accusation astir this case, delight scope retired to Matthew Lapierre astatine matthew.lapierre@cbc.ca

We learned however West went from a failing businessman and purported cause trader to an alleged “grandparent scam” millionaire — and however helium vanished, becoming a wanted fugitive, conscionable arsenic his scam web began to crumble.

Standing barefoot connected a yacht successful Dubai sometime successful 2023, West said helium had earned his wealthiness from savvy investing and hard work.

“How person I achieved this level of fiscal freedom?” helium asks rhetorically, speaking to a camera for a promotional video.

“Real property investment, concern properties, income properties licence maine to unrecorded this life.”

In assorted interviews and societal media posts, West has repeatedly claimed helium made his luck successful existent property by buying and selling a portfolio of homes extracurricular the Atlanta country soon aft the fiscal situation of 2008.

Then successful 2016, helium founded his existent property company, West Developments to bargain land, flip homes and physique customized houses successful the Montreal area.

But West wasn’t ever successful. His aboriginal existent property projects and concern ventures appeared to struggle, based connected a CBC investigation of his enactment and interviews with radical who knew him.

CBC News spoke to radical who said West often lacked the wealth to wage contractors, and concern records amusement helium went into the edifice concern with Steve Vogl, a businessman tied to the Montreal mafia, but their task ne'er got disconnected the ground. 

Many of the sources interviewed for this communicative requested not to beryllium named due to the fact that they feared reprisals for sharing accusation astir the alleged person of a transgression enterprise.

Then, astir 2021 — the aforesaid twelvemonth American prosecutors accidental West’s grandparent scam became progressive — things appeared to beryllium improving for West.

Suddenly, helium nary longer seemed abbreviated of money.

West’s location builds and renovations became progressively upscale. He began utilizing ultra-luxurious materials: achromatic marble countertops with melodramatic grey veins, gold-plated faucets and ornate airy fixtures.

A CBC News reappraisal of onshore registry documents recovered that it was besides successful 2021 erstwhile West began purchasing much and much land.

He financed the acquisition of 2 plots of onshore westbound of Montreal to physique condo developments, and past helium spent millions connected 3 multi-unit flat buildings successful confederate Ontario, 1 successful London and 2 successful St. Thomas.

His program for those properties was simple, helium said successful societal media videos. He saw the imaginable for their values to skyrocket — if helium could get the tenants to permission truthful helium could renovate them. 

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According to the spot records, helium paid $3 cardinal — currency — for 1 of the St.Thomas buildings, a low-rise, 18-unit flat analyzable located astatine 14 Holland Street. West utilized a numbered institution to implicit the purchase. One idiosyncratic who lives successful the gathering said helium offered her $20,000 to leave.

West was spending millions, acold beyond what our investigation of his existent property dealings suggests helium was earning.

But wherever did the wealth travel from?

The aforesaid period helium bought the 14 Holland Street building, a pickup motortruck pulled up extracurricular West’s location successful the Montreal suburbs, according to documents filed successful Quebec Superior Court years later.

One of West’s alleged accomplices carried a container containing $265,000 successful currency into the home. The money, U.S. investigators aboriginal said, came from scam victims successful the U.S. and had been smuggled into Canada.

It was a communal delivery. Around this time, constabulary assertion West’s alleged scam web was netting hundreds of thousands of dollars each month.

In September 2021, Julie, who asked that her past sanction not beryllium utilized for this communicative for fearfulness of reprisals from speaking retired against a radical of alleged criminals, was visiting her parent successful Pennsylvania erstwhile the telephone rang.

“Hello grandma, this is Ethan,” said a dependable connected the different extremity of the line. “Ethan”, Julie’s nephew, told her helium was trying to scope a household subordinate due to the fact that helium was successful trouble: helium had gotten into a car mishap portion looking astatine his GPS and had been arrested for distracted driving. To marque matters worse, the operator of the different conveyance was a large woman, helium said.

“I thought I asked each the close questions and this idiosyncratic had an reply for everything,” Julie recalled successful an interview.

“Ethan” asked Julie if she would talk to his lawyer. She agreed. The lawyer, who went by the sanction Linda Shwartzman, gave Julie much details astir the lawsuit and said Ethan needed a $12,000 US enslaved to beryllium released from jail.

The lawyer said she would find a bail bondsman successful Julie’s country and, erstwhile Julie had the money, put for the bondsman to prime it up.

A fewer hours later, erstwhile Julie had the cash, the bail bondsman arrived and picked it up. The scam had worked.

Still, the scammers tried to get much money. The lawyer called Julie backmost and said the large pistillate had mislaid her baby; she mightiness sue. Ethan needed different $12,000 US.

Julie, shocked, called Ethan — the existent Ethan — to commiserate. Except that the existent Ethan told her the full happening was a scam.

Julie had fixed $12,000 US to a scammer affiliated, allegedly, with West’s network. But she wasn’t the lone one. West’s alleged scam web targeted hundreds of radical each month, and, based connected records of the wealth they were bringing in, they were palmy overmuch of the time.

Her lawsuit was 1 of galore tied to West’s alleged scam network.

All the while, West basked successful his success. He attended conferences and was featured successful aggregate interviews arsenic a palmy existent property nonrecreational — 1 who could assistance anyone marque it large successful existent property investing: a one-hour coaching league with him outgo $1,000.

He travelled abroad, posting predominant societal media updates astir the world, and helium had a flair for utmost sports. He tried a h2o jetpack successful Dubai, utilized pitchy skis successful Costa Rica and parachuted successful Europe.

He posted endless self-promotional updates connected societal media, drafting attraction to himself arsenic a caller subordinate successful the existent property space.

Serena Holmes, a existent property nonrecreational and entrepreneur, recalled seeing West’s posts online.

“I deliberation helium tries to represent this important manner similar he's ever travelling and astir reminds maine of similar a Dan Bilzerian benignant of thing,” she said successful an interview. “The large muscles, satellite travelling, the escapade sports.”

images expandPolice accidental West travelled frequently. He visited much than a twelve countries, sometimes aggregate times, successful the past 5 years. He documented his travels connected societal media.

In 2023, Holmes said West requested to look connected her podcast, Inspired to Invest.

Holmes agreed and interviewed West for an occurrence titled Create your imagination beingness by investing successful existent estate.

On the podcast, West, speaking from a penthouse helium rented successful a high-rise adjacent the Toronto waterfront, shifted and fidgeted portion encouraging listeners to instrumentality risks.

“As an entrepreneur, you don’t person the luxury of a salary, and you’re perpetually looking for the adjacent win, the adjacent winning project, and that tin beryllium stressful,” helium said.

“Those things tin equine up and marque you question your choices, question your decisions, and I’m surely gladsome now, fixed wherever I am, that I stuck to my guns.”

But West’s biggest win, astatine this point, according to ledgers seized aboriginal by police, was not a existent property deal; it was his concern successful his main concern — grandparent scams — which had reached its zenith.

Only present the constabulary were yet watching. West didn’t cognize it, but his alleged grandparent scam web was astir to collapse.

For years, constabulary crossed the U.S. were noting an summation successful the fig of “grandparent scams,” but they were struggling to pin down the radical liable for them. Then, they got a break.

Much of the pursuing info is based connected tribunal documents, including affidavits from investigators and a provisional apprehension warrant, filed successful transportation with the alleged scammers’ extradition proceedings.

In 2022, a unfortunate successful Vermont handed a scammer an envelope afloat of cash. But erstwhile the scammer, acting arsenic a bail bondsman, near the victim’s home, they took the currency and tossed the envelope to the broadside of the road.

A time later, the unfortunate recovered the envelope and turned it into the police, who were capable to extract a fingerprint from it.

That fingerprint led them to a radical of wealth mules — the ones who acted arsenic bail bondsmen, picking up wealth from victims.

U.S. authorities arrested respective members of these American teams, and immoderate of them co-operated with investigators, starring them to a Canadian named Stefano Zanetti, who was successful interaction with West and moving the U.S. broadside of the scam retired of Panama.

Police arrested Zanetti and extradited him to the U.S.

While helium was incarcerated up of his trial, U.S. investigators accidental Zanetti told a cellmate that helium was successful interaction with radical backmost successful Canada who were “trying to bargain his soundlessness for $2 million.”

Zanetti pleaded blameworthy to conspiracy to perpetrate ligament fraud and conspiracy to perpetrate wealth laundering. He is scheduled to beryllium sentenced successful December.

Meanwhile, Quebec provincial police, known arsenic the SQ, were besides onto the scammers.

In precocious 2021, an undercover SQ squad posing arsenic wealth smugglers carried hundreds of thousands of dollars implicit the borderline connected behalf of the scammers.

This was erstwhile they tracked Ricky Ylimaki, who allegedly operated arsenic a courier for West, carrying a container of currency into West’s home. The scammers, though constabulary didn’t yet cognize that’s what they were, were connected their radar.

In 2023, having tracked the scam behaviour to Montreal, U.S. authorities requested Canadian assistance. They agreed to enactment together. Officers successful Quebec ramped up their surveillance of Ylimaki, which helped pb them to the telephone centres wherever West’s employees were allegedly calling victims successful the U.S.

After a fewer months, constabulary moved in.

The greeting of June 4, 2024, constabulary officers wearing tactical cogwheel descended connected 1 of West’s alleged telephone centres, the 1 successful a achromatic location successful a fielded country westbound of Montreal.

Inside, sitting astatine a table successful the different unfurnished house, Adam Lawrence, 41, 1 of the alleged scammers, got a notification connected his phone: a camera had seen question extracurricular the house; the constabulary were here.

The six radical wrong the location tried to scatter. One of them climbed retired a model onto the roof. Another bolted retired of the location into a adjacent field. One antheral hid successful a basement shower.

The constabulary caught them all.

Simultaneously, astatine different alleged telephone centre successful a low-rise bureau gathering adjacent the lakeshore successful Montreal’s West Island, they arrested different 12 radical and seized 68 cellphones.

In summation to the phones, constabulary recovered documents related to West Developments and ledgers documenting worker pay.

The alleged scammers kept meticulous records of their profits. Police combed the documents and recovered they netted $30 cardinal implicit 67 weeks. That fig is apt a lowball estimation for however overmuch they made, fixed that astatine slightest 27 weeks of ledgers were unaccounted for.

The ledgers and documents seized by constabulary bespeak the alleged scam web operated overmuch similar a existent company. West had 24 employees. They had wage agreements, took vacations, and supervisors monitored their performance. 

The scammers besides had intelligibly defined roles: immoderate were openers, liable for calling prospective victims and convincing them their comparative was successful trouble; others were closers, whose occupation was to person victims they were a lawyer oregon constabulary serviceman and archer them however to supply the money.

West allegedly tied his employees' compensation to the magnitude of palmy scams the callers pulled off. Some of the much palmy alleged scammers made hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Meanwhile, a abstracted web operated successful the United States, collecting funds from victims and laundering the proceeds done cryptocurrency oregon smuggling currency shipments into Canada.

Of the $30 cardinal the scammers allegedly netted implicit the 67 weeks for which determination are records, $9 cardinal was paid to the employees. West, the constabulary said, earned wealth “above and beyond” worker pay, meaning it’s apt helium earned millions, perchance adjacent tens of millions, from the alleged scheme.

He allegedly kept cautious tabs connected performance, co-ordinated the wealth laundering cognition via Panama, and held predominant meetings with the alleged scam “managers.”

West, a bodybuilding enthusiast who travelled internationally often connected “warrior monk” fittingness trips, appears to person met galore of his alleged employees astatine the Montreal-area gym wherever helium worked out.

Monster Gym, wherever West exercised, is portion of a larger fittingness installation successful the West Island. In 2023, Francesco Del Balso, a notable fig successful Montreal’s Italian mafia, was assassinated extracurricular the gym arsenic helium was leaving aft gathering Hells Angel members, according to La Presse.

West worked retired determination often. He was a regular, and aggregate radical who knew him said helium was known to usage drugs and adjacent merchantability them, peculiarly steroids, which they accidental helium was unfastened astir utilizing arsenic portion of his bodybuilding hobby.

Many of the 25 radical indicted by U.S. authorities arsenic portion of the alleged West scam were fittingness oregon bodybuilding enthusiasts known to predominant Monster Gym.

Nicholas Shiomi and Joy Kalafatidis were some idiosyncratic trainers, posting astir fittingness and advertizing carnal transformations connected their societal media accounts. At slightest 4 different accused scammers, Richard Frischman, Nicolas Gonzalez, Lawrence and Ylimaki were each known to enactment retired astatine Monster Gym.

Monster Gym denied immoderate engagement with West and the alleged scam network. A spokesperson said their lawsuit database is privileged accusation and declined further comment.

Once West recruited an alleged accomplice to his network, helium enforced the usage of codification names.

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For instance, Shiomi went by “Keanu,” and Kalafatidis went by “Blondie;” Frischman was “Styx” and Lawrence was “Carter.” West went by “Muscles” and “Buddy,” according to investigators.

But adjacent aft the raids connected June 4, 2024, officers needed much clip to physique their lawsuit and comb done each the grounds they had collected earlier they had capable for prosecutors to laic charges.

During that time, they were disquieted the scam was inactive operating. As precocious arsenic February 2025, officers noticed respective of the alleged scammers gathering aggregate times astatine a location successful Montreal’s Point-Saint-Charles area. They feared it was a caller telephone centre. Police successful the U.S. continued to person strikingly akin reports from hundreds of grandparent scam victims.

They were besides disquieted that if they didn’t determination successful and apprehension the alleged scammers soon, West would flee.

In a provisional apprehension warrant filed successful February, they said it was apt helium could question overseas to a state from which it would beryllium hard to extradite him. They felt they had to enactment close away. 

That aforesaid month, they yet secured a provisional apprehension warrant and moved to apprehension the alleged scammers.

The U.S. territory attorney’s bureau for the authorities of Vermont, which is starring the prosecution against West and the 24 different alleged scammers, unsealed an indictment charging them with conspiracy to perpetrate ligament fraud and conspiracy to perpetrate wealth laundering.

But it was excessively late. Police arrested 23 radical successful the Montreal area, but West, and Jimmy Ylimaki, different 1 of the alleged scammers, were gone.

After the raids past June, West, knowing the constabulary were onto him, but not yet with immoderate ceremonial charges laid against him, took retired a $6-million owe utilizing 1 of his Ontario properties arsenic collateral.

It’s not wide what helium did with the money. It’s besides not wide wherever West went next. He had precocious purchased a suburban location successful Burlington, Ont., but helium had been successful and retired of Montreal arsenic precocious arsenic February 2025 erstwhile helium was successful the metropolis to reply a cause charge.

A root with cognition of the concern who requested to stay confidential said West was successful Burlington, Ont., successful aboriginal March erstwhile constabulary officers attempted to apprehension him. 

Officers went to a location helium owned, but it was being renovated, and West was staying astatine a rental location elsewhere successful the city. When the constabulary arrived there, helium was gone, according to the source. 

CBC News visited West’s properties, immoderate of which are inactive successful his name. We did not find him. Nobody adjacent immoderate of the properties had seen him recently.

Court proceedings are ongoing for the different accused scammers. U.S. authorities are arguing that they should beryllium extradited to the U.S. to beryllium tried. Some could look up to 40 years successful situation if extradited and convicted.

None of the charges against the alleged scammers oregon West person been tested successful court.

West remains a wanted man.