Four Ontario landlords were ordered by a Superior Court justice to turn over control of their real estate operations to a court-appointed monitor following accusations they misused roughly $144 million in investor money for lavish personal lifestyle purposes while allowing their rental properties to become dilapidated.
According to a CBC report, Justice Peter Osborne transferred power of the 11 corporations based in the Hamilton area to KSV Advisory. The corporations have been under bankruptcy protection since January, with the protection scheduled to end on July 31.
A recent investigation by KSV determined the landlords “diverted, misused or misappropriated funds that were borrowed from investors.” KSV alleged the landlords borrowed tens of millions of dollars from investors using first and second mortgages and unsecured promissory notes for buying and renovating properties that would either be sold or rented. Instead, the properties fell into ruin while the money was channeled into unrelated businesses owned by the landlords and was also used to finance extravagant personal perks including private jets, luxury vacation homes, a private chef, and visits to nightclubs and strip clubs.
In announcing his decision, Osborne declared, “What we have here is a complete loss of confidence in management.”
The landlords — former YTV actor Robby Clark, Hamilton real estate agent Dylan Suitor and Burlington business owners Aruba Butt and Ryan Molony — disputed KSV’s findings. An attorney for the landlords, Joseph Blinick, complained, “The manner in which the applicants have been portrayed is exceptionally unfair and it ignores all the good they have done.”
Photo: Josh Laverty / iStock
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