Inveterate fraudster falsified IDs, preyed on landlords holding properties in Richmond Hill and Markham
Nearly a dozen landlords in the Greater Toronto Area have been victimized by a fraudster tenant who used their properties in his illicit operations.
The tenant, Arif Adnan Syed, who is slated to be charged with 11 counts of fraud for the use of falsified identification, operated as a “serial landlord” who rented out the properties in Richmond Hill and Markham.
Syed allegedly turned these properties into his own rooming houses, illegally accommodating more than 20 people in the process.
However, the charges are so far toothless, as these have not yet helped the landlords evict Syed, CBC News reported.
“The police are only following up with the fraud and the fraudulent documents,” said Mandana Jafarian, one of the landlords targeted by Syed’s scheme. “They cannot evict [Syed] from the illegal houses that he is renting and making money.”
Kambiz Farsian, another affected landlord and Jafarian’s husband, said that they were unable to check Syed’s public record beforehand as he used the name “Arif Saied” when he introduced himself.
Syed was already charged with fraud as far back as 2010, and is also facing more than three dozen other charges of falsified vehicle mileage information.
“He changed his name and that’s why he tricked us,” said Farsian. “We couldn’t find any history for him anywhere. … I don’t know why there is no way to stop this type of business.”
