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Criminal Trial The criminal trial of R vs Rathore & Petrozza began in October 2024. The verdict was read in May 2025. The sentencing submissions hearing is to take place December 3, 2025. Read below for the information on the trial. about the Criminal trial Trial Info, location, Q&A, media coverage Read More > Trial summary Crown Prosecutor, Defense opening arguments & witness testimonies Read More > closing arguments Summary of Crown Prosecutor & Defense closing arguments Read More > Verdict Justice D Moores verdict & reason for decision Read More >

Fortress in the News 2025 Developers found guilty of defrauding investors out of retirement savings in Barrie, Winnipeg May 28, 2025- CBC Fortress Real Developments co-founders found guilty of fraud May 28-Globe & Mail Syndicated mortgage firm co-founders found guilty of massive fraud May 30-2025 CMP 2022 Fortress Real Developments founders charged with fraud in connection with syndicated mortgage probe June 22, 2022 - Financial Post Fortress Founders Charged with Fraud June 22, 2022- Toronto Star Fortress founders charged in mortgage investments scheme June 22, 2022 - Orillia Matters Ottawa senior says he lost life savings investing with company now facing fraud charges July 6, 2022 - CTV News 2021 Former executive of troubled developer Fortress involved in new real estate company September 13, 2021 2020 FSRA Imposes administrative Penalty of $250,000 on Fortress Real Development Inc. September 19, 2020 Planned web series to shine light on alleged Fortress Real scam December 29, 2020- Canadian Real Estate Magazine 2019 Victims cry foul over Fortress Real rewards June 13, 2019 Mortgage Broker News No retirement for 73 year old investor June 11, 2019 Mortgage Broker News 'I still feel ashamed'; investors' life savings held in limbo Jan. 11, 2019 Barrie Today 2018 Lenders to seize 13 real estate projects Oct 25, 2018 Globe and Mail RCMP raid 6 locations in GTA as part of syndicated mortgage fraud Apr. 13, 2018 CBC.ca Canadian police search Fortress office in mortgage fraud probe: sources Apr. 3, 2018 Reuters Trustee to take over Fortress broker in wake of RCMP raid Apr. 20, 2018 The Globe and Mail Fortress investors could face 'significant losses' Jun. 24, 2018 The Globe and Mail Allegations of inflated property values at centre of RCMP syndicated mortgage fraud investigation Jul. 19, 2018 CBC.ca Fortress misled investors about land valuation, RCMP alleges Oct. 21, 2018 The Globe and Mail RCMP allege obstruction in Fortress fraud investigation Oct. 23, 2018 CBC.ca Inside the fall of Fortress Dec. 14, 2018 The Globe and Mail 2017 How a real estate developer's efforts to silence a critic failed Jan. 19, 2017 MacLean's 2016 The high-risk world of syndicated mortgages Apr 29, 2016 The Star Just how safe is the ‘safe’ world of syndicated mortgages? April 4, 2016, MacLean's

Mitchell Wine & Margaret Waddell legal team About the legal team Click here to read Mitchell Wine's bio. Click here to read Margaret Waddell's bio. Class Action Law Suit The actions relate to the SMLs registered on five different Fortress real estate developments: Collier Centre – Barrie, ON (only with respect to the original loan) Progress Manors Ten88 – Toronto, ON Sutton/The Link – Burlington, ON Harmony Village Lake Simcoe/The Kemp – Barrie, ON Orchard Calgary – Calgary, AB Partial settlements were reached and approved by Justice Perrell on January 13, 2023. Further details, including the statements of claim, and contact information are available on the Sotos Class Action website -(enter "Fortress" in the search bar) Settlement and payouts are carried out by FAAN Mortgage Administrators, Further details on payouts can be found on FAAN's website .

Vosmi in the News 2019 Victims Fight Back against Regulator and the Law Society of Ontario September 19, 2019 Canadian Fraud News Investors who lost millions in syndicated mortgages call for changes at law society September 13, 2019- CBC News Victims cry foul over Fortress Real rewards June 13, 2019 - Canadian Professional Mag 2022 Ottawa senior says he lost life savings investing with company now facing fraud charges July 6, 2022 CTV News 2021 Investors who lost millions launch petition calling for federal attention on Fortress deals February 17, 2021 2020 Fortress cancels major high-rise project in Winnipeg, leaves investors hanging October 7, 2020 PC Mag Lot that was supposed to be home to SkyCity, Winnipeg's tallest tower, now up for sale Oct 2, 2020 CBC

Darryl Levitt Law Darryl Levitt practises law Ontario and is also qualified as a lawyer in South Africa. His area of expertise is corporate finance, energy, and white collar crime investigations. Darryl has worked on many high-profile assignments including the merger of Petro Canada and Suncor for a value of $55bn, the IPO of First Uranium for $265m, the RTO of Pelawan and concurrent financing of $165m. He has also worked on public interest matters including the recent Air Ethiopia aviation disaster, and a large multinational securities law violations case and whistleblower filings. Prior to starting to his own practice, Darryl was a senior lawyer at two multinational law firms. Darryl has consistently been recognized by his peers and clients by the independent WWL as a leading global practitioner in his area of practise. Darryl Levitt Law Counsel Deloitte Building 400 Applewood Crescent Suite 100 Vaughan ON, L4K 0C3 Darryl@darryllevitt.com Reception: 905-482-8089

Coming up! December 3, 2025 Sentencing Submission Hearing Courthouse Details: Location: 10 Armoury Street, Toronto, Ontario (walking distance from subways & City Hall) Room # 1003 Start Time 10 am Court is Open to the Public Tried by judge only (no jury) Zoom is not available. JOIN US! *Sentencing Submission Hearing Crown and defense argue the sentence length. During the hearing, the judge considers arguments, evidence, victim impact statements before deciding on the appropriate sentence. About the trial Fortress Criminal Trial R. v Rathore & Petrozza The criminal trial for the Principals of Fortress Real Developments began October 28, 2024, through to May 28, 2025, with the Sentencing Submission Hearing to take place on December 3, 2025. Jawad Rathore and Vince Petrozza were criminally charged in June, 2022 with Fraud and Secret Commissions for their role in promoting Fortress Syndicated Mortgage Loan “SML” investments. The RCMP IMET began their investigation in 2015, and in 2018 executed their search warrants, and seized items from Fortress and their affiliate brokerages (Centro/BDMC, FDS, FMP, & FFM). The prosecution chose to focus on 2 projects during the trial - Sky City and Collier. On May 28, Justice D. Moore delivered his guilty verdict. The trial summary can be read here. Q & A 1. Who are Jawad Rathore and Vince Petrozza? Rathore and Petrozza are the founders and principals of Fortress Real Development. Rathore is the CEO, and Petrozza is the COO. Petrozza was also the principal broker for Centro/BDMC. Fortress and its affiliated brokerages raised over $920 million in syndicated mortgage investments to help fund the "soft costs" of their developments. Investors who were everyday "mom & pop" investors were led to believe the SML investments were secure and low risk. In total, over $900 million was raised from all syndicated mortgage investments. Thousands of investors have lost their life savings investing in Fortress SMLs. 2. Why are they being tried in a criminal court? Rathore and Petrozza were criminally charged with Fraud and Secret Commissions after a lengthy RCMP investigation. It is alleged that the founders of Fortress Real Developments engaged in fraud by orchestrating an ongoing scheme whereby they did not disclose the various risks to brokers and investors of syndicated mortgages. 3. What is a syndicated mortgage? A syndicate mortgage is a group of individuals who lend money privately to a borrower to finance real estate developments, such as residential condo buildings. In the case of Fortress Real Development Inc, loans were secured against a major development proposal known as a Syndicated Mortgage Investment (“SMI”).These funds were primarily to finance the ‘soft costs’ of a real estate development. They are also referred to as Syndicated Mortgage Loans (SML) as the investors in effect leant money to the borrower (developer). 4. Is zoom available for this trial? Unfortunately there are technical issues that prevent the trial from being shared over zoom. If you are able to attend in person, there are many TTC options for those of you in the GTA. Please go to the Trip Planner site for assistance. https://www.ttc.ca/trip-planner 5. What should I expect at the courthouse? What can I bring? Please refer to the courtroom guidelines and etiquette. 6. Which projects are they focussing on during the trial? Even though Fortress raised money for over 70 projects, (there were about 45 at the time of the RCMP raid), the RCMP narrowed their investigation on Collier, Crates Landing/South Shore, Harmony Village & Sky City. 7. Who is the prosecutor? It is crown attorney Scott Patterson. CBC Developers found guilty of defrauding investors out of retirement savings in Barrie, Winnipeg Read More Global News Fortress Real Developments co-founders found guilty of fraud Read More Investment Executive Fortress pair convicted on fraud charges Read More

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Project Status To find the status of the project you invested in, please contact the Trustee, FAAN Mortgage Administrators . The following is a snapshot of the Fortress Projects and review of total funds paid to investors and total losses. Please view this presentation on your PC or iPad for optimal viewing

An animated & explanatory timeline of events describing the Fortress Real Development Syndicated Mortgage Investment Fraud charges & the failures of the regulators, and how VOSMI was created. Timeline The Founders of Fortress RDI began working together since 2002. This timeline traces the key milestones, from their early business ventures and the creation of Fortress, to regulatory shortcomings, RCMP investigations, and the criminal legal proceedings that continue today. Please view this timeline slideshow on computer or tablet vs a phone for optimal viewing.

" Independent Legal Advice" Most of our members received "Indpendent Legal Advice" prior to investing the Fortress Syndicated Mortgages. We conducted a survey from 154 investors. These are the survey results. ILA Member Survey Results.pdf

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