Lisa Simpson
May 7,2010
In: Mortgage

Politician is Involved in Mortgage Fraud Running into Millions

A Politician is involved in mortgage fraud.

A politician has been involved in a mortgage fraud running into millions putting into embarrassment Prime Minister Stephen Harper and his Conservative Party. MP Devinder Shory (Calgary Northeast) is named among others in a legal suit involving a mortgage scam worth $70 million at Bank of Montreal. Included in the suit are over one hundred persons who are attorneys, real estate agents and even some staff of the bank. The suit has been filed by the bank.
In a statement 51 year old Shory said that he had “done nothing wrong.”

Shory was elected in 2008 to Parliament and is at present in the Joint Security and Regulations Committee and Natural Resources Committed.

The bank alleges that it has been cheated in many programmes in Western Canada that was first brought to notice four years previously in a security check operation. It charges that the defendants located houses that were under-assessed in fancy localities and then paid outsiders some thousands in dollars to put their names on the applications for mortgages. Forged documents were then used to hike up the property values. The bank was deluded into thinking that the purchaser had the capacity to pay. Once the approval was obtained the cheats dipped into the profits the money being sent abroad. The total worth of the mortgages involved was $69.5 million. After completion of foreclosure the bank expects the loss to be around $30 million but is hopeful by taking recourse to legal and other action more of the losses would be recouped.

The statement claims that Shory together with many other lawyers were involved in this mortgage fraud scheme. The group found “straw buyers” to submit mortgage applications. The latter were paid anything from $3,000 to $8,000. The assets of the straw buyers and income were modified to make them more attractive candidates for getting the mortgage money.

The court has not yet proved these allegations. Shory claims that he has not yet been served with any claim statement. He said, “When I am, I will defend myself vigorously against these accusations. I have done nothing wrong. As the matter is before the courts, I have no further comment at this time.”
The office of the Prime Minister declined to comment whether Shory would continue to be part of the caucus or not. It declined to comment on the plea that the matter was a civil and not criminal one and that it was pending in the court.