Stories about missing millions are of interest to many people

Photo source: Randy Risling/Toronto Star. The caption for the photo, which is from an April 5, 2014 Toronto Star article (see link at this blog post), reads: "A vacant mansion at 7 High Point Rd. in the Bridle Path neighbourhood. It is one of dozens of properties listed in a massive civil claim alleging mortgage fraud that investors believe could be worth as much as $17 million. The Law Society of Upper Canada reviewed documents related to three properties, including this one, and found them to be fraudulent."

From time to time, I like to share stories about evidence related to cases, or alleged cases, of scams and scamming.

I’m responding to what I’ve learned people like to read about.

Lawyer in hiding

The focus of the current blog is an April 5, 2014 Toronto Star article entitled:

Golnaz Vakili: Lawyer in hiding accused of stealing millions swears she’s innocent

The subhead reads:

Golnaz Vakili, now in hiding, swears she’s innocent of an alleged mortgage fraud investors say could be worth as much as $17 million. The Star probes what happened.

Here’s an excerpts from the article:

• Within a month of her abrupt departure, Vakili would be named in a massive civil suit alleging she was a central figure in a sophisticated mortgage scheme investors believe could be worth as much as $17 million. The courts froze her accounts and the law society suspended her licence. Then Toronto police charged her with fraud in absentia and issued a warrant for her arrest.

• This is a story about missing millions, stately mansions on the Bridle Path, broken business relationships and an alleged death threat. It features a cast of characters operating in the world of real estate and private loans. Among them is Vakili, a promising young lawyer now on the lam; a businessman who bought the largest home in Canada and who in the past has been charged with several violent crimes though never convicted; his former business associate – a wealthy woman who accuses both of them of defrauding her family – and a shell-shocked husband searching for answers.

Another excerpt reads:

“Vakili says she chose to open a private practice because it made her more accountable.

“‘I just don’t seem to have the same results when I’ve got somebody constantly looking over my shoulder.’”

[End of excerpts]