OPP arrest 2 more suspects in ongoing door-to-door sales fraud investigation
Posted October 29, 2024 2:36 pm.
Two more people have been arrested in an ongoing investigation into door-to-door sales frauds that Ontario Provincial Police say victimized over 200 people across the province, with some even losing their homes as result.
Investigators say suspects posing as salespeople would attend the homes of older adults and vulnerable people and trick them into entering into home service and/or renovation agreements at “outrageous prices.”
Some of the victims were duped into believed they were getting free services, installations, and renovations through government grants or rebates, OPP said.
The suspects would then use fake agreements to register Notice of Security Interests (NOSIs).
“Later, these NOSIs were paid off to the benefit of the organizers using fraudulent, high-interest mortgages against the victims’ homes,” an OPP release explained. “In many cases, this fraud left the victims in financial peril; and in some cases, forced the victims to sell their homes.”
Police announced two arrests in September, and two more on Tuesday.
Austin Acheson, 29, of Woodbridge, and Danielle Harrison, 39, of Mississauga, are both charged with fraud over $5,000. Harrison also faces a charge of possession of property obtained by crime over $5,000.
Police say anyone can check if there is a NOSI registered against their home by purchasing a copy of their parcel register through the Ontario Land Registry Access at www.onland.ca.
If they find a NOSI has been registered, the newly enacted Homeowner Protection Act deems all consumer NOSIs registered before June 6, 2024, to be expired and allows them to be removed by registering an application to delete an expired NOSI through a lawyer.
The Consumer Protection Act also allows you to withdraw from a contract within one year and get a full refund if a business or individual has misrepresented a product or service. Products or services sold door-to-door also have a ‘cooling off period’ that allows you to cancel an agreement within 10 days.
With files from John Marchesan and Lucas Casaletto
