Complex fraud investigation leads to charges for Mississauga, Pickering, Toronto men

A group of men from across the GTA have been charged in connection to a complex door-to-door sales fraud scheme with 200 victims throughout Ontario.

In the summer of 2021, Collingwood OPP launched a fraud investigation into the scheme. However, they soon referred it to the Serious Fraud Office which took over by February. The investigation became known as Project Nettle

The investigation learned a group of salesmen were targeting the homes of elderly and vulnerable people. According to the OPP, the salesmen would push these victims into home maintenance and renovation agreements at “exorbitant prices.” Many were led to believe government grants and rebates would fund these projects.

Using the information gathered from the victims, the fraudsters would register a Notice of Security Interest against the victim’s homes. These are similar to putting a lien against the homes wherein the fraudster held a right to the home until they were paid for the maintenance and renovation.

These Notices were later paid to the fraudster’s benefit often with high-interest, fraudulent mortgages. The process often left the victims in “financial peril,” police said. In some cases, the victims had to sell their homes.

The OPP interviewed 230 people over the course of their investigation and found, “It is evident this fraud has been financially, emotionally, and physically devastating for many victims across the province.”

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In addition to Collingwood OPP, Barrie Police, Durham Regional Police Service, Guelph Police, Hamilton Police Service, Ottawa Police Service, Peel Regional Police, Toronto Police Service, York Regional Police, Waterloo Regional Police Service, as well as The Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada all assisted with the investigation.

Two men have been arrested:

• Sajjad Ahamd, 40 of Scarborough
  • two counts of fraud over $5,000
• Rajivan Thillainadarajah, 39 of Mississauga
  • fraud over $5,000
  • possession of property obtained by crime over $5,000
  • money laundering
  • conspiracy to commit a crime

Three more remain wanted:

• Muhammad Waqar Afzal, 33 of Pickering
  • four counts of fraud over $5,000
  • possession of property obtained by crime over $5,000
  • money laundering
  • conspiracy to commit a crime
• Muhammad Wasiq Afzal, 28 of Scarborough
  • four counts of fraud over $5,000
  • possession of property obtained by crime over $5,000
  • money laundering
  • conspiracy to commit a crime
• Anas Ayyoub, 23 of Toronto
  • four counts of fraud over $5,000
  • possession of property obtained by crime over $5,000
  • money laundering
  • conspiracy to commit a crime

Homeowners can check if there are any Notices of Security Interest against their homes online. All such notices from before June 2024 are considered expired due to the recently enacted Ontario Homeowner Protection Act.

“The Consumer Protection Act also allows you to withdraw from a contract within one year and get a full refund if a business or individual has misrepresented a product or service. Products or services sold door-to-door also have a ‘cooling off period’ that allows you to cancel an agreement within 10 days,” police said.

Anyone with information can call police at 1 (833) 941-5865 or Crime Stoppers anonymously at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477).