A 45-year-old Peterborough man is facing even more charges in an ongoing fraud investigation into a student housing rental scam.
On Monday (November 20), Peterborough police had arrested the man and charged him with seven counts of fraud under $5,000 and seven counts of obtaining by false pretences.
Police allege the accused man had placed an online advertisement for a rental home in Peterborough and collected first and last month’s rent from post-secondary students, while knowing the home was either being sold or foreclosed. When a group of students returned to their rental home in late September 2017 and found a foreclosure notice on the door, they reported the incident to police.
On Tuesday (November 21), police received additional information that the accused man had accepted first and last month’s rent from two further victims for a room at a King Street residence with a move-in date of November 1, 2017. The two victims were never able to move into the residence.
Police allege the accused man knew he would be unable to have the building permits completed and the property signed off by the Peterborough Fire Department and other agencies by November 1, 2017. As a result of the investigation, the accused man is facing two additional counts of fraud under $5,000 and two counts of obtaining by false pretences.
The accused man remains in custody and is scheduled to appear again in court on November 22. The new charges will be read at this appearance.
Also on November 21, a Fire Prevention Officer from the Peterborough Fire Services attended the residence and as a result numerous charges were laid under the Fire Code. The accused man was advised that the property was not to be occupied as a rooming house.
On September 14, the accused man was fined a total of $20,000 for failing to comply with orders from the city fire department over fire safety issues, as a result of fire safety inspections at rooming houses owned by the accused man on Water Street, King Street, and Royal Drive.
The current investigation is ongoing. Police believe there may still be other victims and are encouraging anyone with similar concerns or experience to come forward and call the Peterborough Police Service at 705-876-1122.
