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Thieves Sell Couple’s Home for $1.7 Million in Toronto Canada Through Title Fraud
A couple from Toronto, Canada, recently discovered that thieves sold their home for $1.7 million while the couple was in the UK. Authorities say this type of theft is not common, but there has been a noticeable increase in comparable occurrences in the country’s most populous metropolis.
Early this year, Toronto police said they needed the public’s assistance in apprehending two suspects involved in a complex fraud scheme.
According to the BBC, the suspects used forged identities to pose as city property owners. They sold the house and handed the keys to the unwitting new owners. The true owners of the house had been out of the country on business since January 2022.
After noting that their mortgage payments had vanished from their bank accounts, the out-of-town couple discovered that their home had been sold without their knowledge.
The incident piqued the interest of many Canadians, particularly in the Greater Toronto Area and Vancouver, where real estate is considered a national obsession due to its high cost – the average home costs more than $ 1 million, and homes are scarce.
Similar claims from other Toronto property owners have emerged, and police say these previously uncommon examples of property title fraud appear to be on the rise.
These situations are “certainly unique to this moment in time,” according to Trevor Koot, CEO of the British Columbia Real Estate Association and a nearly 20-year industry veteran.
“I’ve never seen anything like it,” he stated, referring to the complexity employed to carry out these crimes.
What exactly is title fraud? How much has it increased in Toronto, Canada?
Mortgage fraud and title fraud are common schemes involving home or property ownership.
According to Brian King of King Advisory International Group, a Toronto-based organization investigating white-collar crime, mortgage fraud is more widespread.
Why does it take 30 years in Canada to buy a house?
It is committed when a fraudster uses forged identifying documents to get a second mortgage on a home in Canada they do not own, usually after the first mortgage has been paid off in full or almost so.
On the other hand, title fraud entails tenants impersonating the owner of a vacant home and selling it to serious buyers. This results in the property’s total title transfer.
If the home has title insurance, the true owner and buyer in Canada can usually obtain most of their money back. The insurance covers legal expenditures paid during the procedure and aids in re-establishing ownership.
Mr. King stated that he had seen increased mortgage and title fraud frequency since 2020.
According to him, his firm has experienced a “rash” of title fraud in recent years. In almost all cases, the homeowners lived elsewhere when fraudsters took over their property, in nations such as the United States and China.
Mr. King mentioned a couple from Toronto who relocated to the UK for work in 2018. Their house in Canada was later sold from beneath them in 2022. It was sold for C$1.7 million and had been completely refurbished when they discovered it had been stolen in June. As of February, the couple was still working on getting their home’s title returned.
According to John Rider, vice-president, between the 1960s and 2019, Chicago Title Insurance Company’s Canada branch saw only two occurrences of fraud – mortgage and title.
They are currently dealing with scores of cases, including at least five examples of title fraud, all in the Greater Toronto Area, which covers the city and adjacent towns.
Comparable incidents of title fraud have appeared in the province of British Columbia, which is home to the city of Vancouver, where the typical home costs C$1.1 million, albeit on a less frequent basis.
The BC Land Title and Survey Authority (LTSA) reported two attempts at title fraud since 2020, just one of which was successful. The public corporation noted that it is only aware of one previous incidence in 2019 and two in 2008 and 2009.
It claims that these fraud cases are extremely unusual, even though the LTSA processes up to one million land title applications annually.
Why are there more reports of title fraud?
Scientists are baffled as to why there has been such an increase in reported cases, notably in Toronto.
Mr. King believes that virtual real estate transactions during the pandemic may have made it more difficult to detect phony identification documents. He also mentioned that the epidemic had compelled some people to stay away from their homes for prolonged periods because to travel restrictions.
Others have noted the increasing sophistication of the criminals, some of whom have been tied to organized crime and appear to have a thorough understanding of the real estate sector in Canada.
According to Mr. Rider, the phony Identities used in these transactions frequently appear authentic, and offenders would hire professional actors to pose as homeowners and carry out the operation.
“IDs are so easily falsified now that they can’t be relied on to close a $3 million transaction,” Mr. Rider added.
There is also the financial aspect of these crimes. Real estate in Toronto, Canada, has appreciated dramatically over the last two decades, with the average property costing C$198,150 in 1996. It was C$1.18m last year.
“It makes logical that there is a lot of emphases on where real estate is very valuable,” said Ron Usher, general counsel for the Society of Notaries Public in British Columbia, Canada.
However, Mr. Usher noted that little is known about these alleged incidents of title fraud, which are frequently complex.
“These are not easy crimes to commit, and they are frequently caught and prevented.”
He and others have asked for a national review to discover the underlying causes and whether more can be done to protect Canadian homeowners.
News
Britain Must Be Ready for War in 3 Years, Warns New Army Chief
The new head of the Army has stated that Britain must be prepared to fight a war within three years.
Gen Sir Roland Walker has issued a warning about a variety of risks in what he calls a “increasingly volatile” environment.
However, he stated that war was not inevitable and that the Army had “just enough time” to prepare to prevent conflict.
He stated that the Army’s fighting capacity would be doubled by 2027 and tripled by the end of the decade.
Gen Walker warned that the Britain was under threat from a “axis of upheaval” in his first speech as Prime Minister on Tuesday.
Among the primary concerns confronting the Britain in the next years, as noted by the general in a briefing, is an enraged Russia, which may seek vengeance on the West for helping Ukraine, regardless of who wins the war.
He stated: “It doesn’t matter how it finishes. I believe Russia will emerge from it weaker objectively – or completely – but still very, very dangerous and seeking some form of retaliation for what we have done to assist Ukraine.”
Britain’s Government Defence Review and Military Challenges
He also warned that China was determined to retake Taiwan, and Iran was likely to seek nuclear weapons.
He stated that the threats they posed may become particularly acute in the next three years, and that these countries had formed a “mutual transactional relationship” since the war in Ukraine, sharing weaponry and technology.
However, he stated that the path to conflict was not “inexorable” if the UK re-established credible land troops to assist its deterrent strategy for avoiding war.
In his speech, he described his force of slightly over 70,000 regular troops as a “medium-sized army” and made no direct call for additional resources or men.
However, he pushed the British Army to adapt swiftly, focussing on technology such as artificial intelligence and weaponry rather than numbers.
His ultimate goal is for the Army to be capable of destroying an opponent three times its size.
This would entail firing quicker and farther, he said, aided by lessons learnt from the Ukraine war.
The general’s speech at the Royal United Services Institute land warfare conference comes only one week after the government began a “root and branch” defence review to “take a fresh look” at the challenges facing the armed services.
Defence Secretary John Healey launched the assessment, describing the existing status of the armed forces as “hollowed-out” and stating that “procurement waste and neglected morale cannot continue”.
According to the most recent Ministry of Defence (MoD) numbers from April 2024, the Britain’s regular Army forces total 75,325 troops (excluding Gurkhas and volunteers).
That figure has been declining in recent years, as recruiting has failed to match retention. The previous Conservative administration lowered the planned headcount from 82,000 to 72,500 by 2025.
Members of the NATO military alliance have agreed to spend at least 2% of GDP on defence by 2024, but several countries are unlikely to fulfil this goal.
The Britain presently spends 2.3% of its GDP on defence. Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has previously stated that the defence review will include a “roadmap” for increasing this to 2.5%, however he has yet to provide a date for this promise.
Source: BBC
News
Katie Ledecky Hopes For Clean Races At Paris Olympics In The Aftermath Of The Chinese Doping Scandal
PARIS — Katie Ledecky is looking for clean Olympic races. On Wednesday, Hope had pretty much reached her limit.
The American swimmer hopes to add to her six gold medals as she competes in the 400, 800, and 1,500 meters at the Paris Games. Her program starts with the heavy 400 on Saturday, featuring Ariarne Titmus and Summer McIntosh.
Katie Ledecky Hopes For Clean Races At Paris Olympics In The Aftermath Of The Chinese Doping Scandal
The 27-year-old Katie is competing in her fourth Summer Olympics, but the first since a doping scandal involving almost two dozen Chinese swimmers who tested positive for a banned chemical before the Tokyo Games — yet were permitted to compete with no consequences. The controversy has raised serious worries regarding the effectiveness of anti-doping initiatives.
“I hope everyone here is going to be competing clean this week,” Ledecky claimed. “But what truly counts is, were they training cleanly? Hopefully this has been the case. Hopefully, there has been worldwide testing.”
The International Olympic Committee has expressed concern over the ongoing US investigation into possible doping by Chinese swimmers. While awarding the 2034 Winter Olympics to Salt Lake City on Wednesday, the IOC urged Utah officials to do whatever they could to stop the FBI investigation.
“I think everyone’s heard what the athletes think,” Katie added. “They seek transparency. They want more answers to the remaining questions. At this point, we are here to race. We are going to race whoever is in the lane next to us.
“We are not paid to conduct the tests, so we trust those who follow their regulations. That applies both today and in the future.
Katie Ledecky Hopes For Clean Races At Paris Olympics In The Aftermath Of The Chinese Doping Scandal
SOURCE | AP
News
London Heatwave Alert: High Temperatures Set to Soar to 29C Next Week
As the summer holidays begin, London may experience an official heatwave with temperatures reaching up to 29 degrees Celsius.
The Met Office predicts a long period of sunny and dry weather for London after a soggy spring and summer.
After a cloudy day on Saturday, temperatures are expected to reach 27C on Sunday, with lots of sunlight.
On Monday and Tuesday, temperatures are forecast to peak at 29 degrees Celsius. Monday is forecast to offer more sunlight, while Tuesday may see some gloomy weather.
Temperatures are expected to remain in the high 20s next week, with lows of approximately 18C.
According to the Met Office, a heatwave is “an extended period of hot weather relative to the expected conditions of the area at that time of year, which may be accompanied by high humidity.”
In the United Kingdom, a heatwave is proclaimed when daily temperatures meet or surpass a certain level for at least three consecutive days.
In London, the heatwave threshold is 28 degrees Celsius.
The Met Office reported that the UK is experiencing hotter and wetter weather on average due to climate change.
The UK experienced its warmest May and April on record this year, despite damp and dismal conditions in many areas.
According to the Met Office’s State Of The UK Climate 2023 report published on Thursday, the UK experienced historic levels of extreme weather last year.
In the United Kingdom, 2023 was the second warmest year on record, bringing storms, flooding, strong heatwaves, and rising sea levels; only 2022 was warmer.
It was 0.8°C higher than the average from 1991 to 2020, and 1.66°C higher than the 1961 to 1990 average.
However, 2023 will be a “cool year” in comparison to 2100, based on the planet’s warming trajectory.
The government’s plan to adapt to the hazards presented by climate change is currently being challenged in the High Court by campaigners who allege the Tory administration’s July 2023 National Adaptation Programme (NAP) fails to adequately address 61 concerns.
Source: The Standard
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