A person rented a house after which impersonated the proprietor, utilized for a mortgage, and stole the cash, police say

• A renter has been arrested in relation to a mortgage-fraud rip-off, Toronto police say.
• He impersonated the house owner, utilized for a mortgage, and picked up the proceeds, police allege.
• Toronto Police is now urging owners to lock away confidential paperwork.

A 42-year-old man impersonated the proprietor of the house he was renting in Toronto, Canada, to safe a mortgage on the property after which steal the cash, police say.

Jay Allen Macdougall was arrested on Might 25 and charged with 5 counts of fraud over $5,000, in addition to laundering proceeds of crime, the Toronto police division mentioned in a information launch.

Police mentioned Macdougall started renting the house in Might 2021 utilizing a web based residence rental utility.

Whereas renting the property, police say he someway obtained the identification data of the house owner.

He then proceeded to impersonate them when making use of for a mortgage on the property, and went on to gather the proceeds of the mortgage for himself, police allege.

The quantity he obtained has not been publicly disclosed, nor has it been disclosed whether or not the cash has been returned to the house owner.

The Toronto Police Service didn’t instantly reply to Insider’s request for remark.

Investigators consider that Macdougall might have dedicated different comparable crimes and are interesting to the general public to offer extra data, the police division mentioned.

The division’s Monetary Crimes Unit suggested Toronto owners within the information launch to lock their submitting cupboards and safely retailer confidential information.

The unit additionally really useful that owners shouldn’t depart their mail at their rental properties to be able to keep away from turning into victims of the same crime.

Macdougall is scheduled to seem in courtroom on June 6, 2023.

Mortgage fraud can take a number of types, from mendacity about one’s earnings to misrepresenting the supply of the down cost, to misrepresenting one’s identification.

In response to a February 2023 survey by BNN Bloomberg and RATESDOTCA that included 1,521 adults, almost half of Canadians (47%) assume that mortgage fraud is frequent of their nation.