Developers found guilty of defrauding investors out of retirement savings in Barrie, Winnipeg

Adam Carter · CBC News

· Posted: May 28, 2025 5:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 44 minutes ago

Two men person been recovered blameworthy of fraud implicit $5,000 after misleading investors connected 2 never-realized projects successful Barrie, Ont., and successful Winnipeg.

Justice Daniel Moore delivered his judgement successful the judge-alone transgression fraud proceedings of Jawad Rathore and Vince Petrozza in a Toronto courtroom Wednesday. 

"Mr. Rathore and Mr. Petrozza are smart, blase businessmen," Moore said, earlier telling the 2 men to basal arsenic helium delivered his judgment. 

"I find beyond a tenable uncertainty that they some intentionally misled investors astir the worth of their secured involvement successful bid to induce them into investing," Moore said. "While they apt hoped that each the projects would beryllium palmy and the investors would beryllium paid back, I find beyond a tenable uncertainty that they knew they were putting capitalist funds astatine risk."

Investors mislaid tens of thousands of dollars after using the pair's company, Fortress Real Developments, to put successful the mixed-use Collier Centre successful Barrie, Ont., and a condo operation called SkyCity successful Winnipeg. 

The charges related to syndicated mortgages, which are loans made by respective investors to screen archetypal improvement costs similar selling and zoning, with the onshore itself acting arsenic collateral. 

Savings wiped retired for some

After 38 years arsenic a national employee, Linda Bilorosek of Burlington Ont., invested her full status savings successful the SkyCity project. Of her $63,000 investment, she mislaid astir $56,000. 

"I was a azygous genitor and it was each the savings that I had ... I was beauteous devastated," said Bilorosek Tuesday earlier the determination landed.

"It's not going to bring backmost my money. That's not going to happen. But astatine slightest it's immoderate benignant of restitution that they person to wage for what they did," she said.

Nicki Peters, who lives successful Toronto, mislaid $100,000 successful the Collier Centre project. She said earlier the determination she felt "heartbroken, defeated" and "deceived" erstwhile it became wide that she had mislaid money.

The maximum condemnation for fraud implicit $5,000 is 14 years successful prison. The proceedings are acceptable to resume again adjacent month.

Crown says investors misled

During closing arguments successful April, the defence had argued the investments' risks were made wide to those providing the loans and that Rathore and Petrozza didn't woody with investors directly, relying alternatively connected owe brokers. 

But Crown prosecutors argued astatine the clip that investors had been misled astir the worth of the onshore progressive successful their loans, which was a cardinal taxable successful the selling of the investments arsenic harmless and secure.

As syndicated owe investments are secured against land, the worth of that onshore is key, Crown prosecutors said. The worth is truthful important due to the fact that if thing goes awry with the development, the investments tin beryllium recovered by selling the land.

In making the statement that Rathore and Petrozza didn't woody with investors directly, the defence said the owe brokers had a ineligible work to guarantee the investors were alert of the risk. 

But a video entered into grounds showed Petrozza grooming brokers connected what needed to beryllium disclosed to investors successful the syndicated mortgages. Prosecutors besides said Petrozza and Rathore knew determination were spot appraisals that had little values than the sentiment of worth fixed to investors, according to interior email discussions. 

More to come.