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  • Vosmi in the News | VOSMI Main Site

    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

  • Mitchell Wine and Margaret Waddell | VOSMI Main Site

    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 .

  • Darryl Levitt | VOSMI Main Site

    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

  • April 1 Update | VOSMI Main Site

    April 1, 2020 Watch Rose Ray's latest update below on the progress in the potential Class Action law suit. Also, if you are able to contribute towards the funding of the investigation and research related to the law suit (to whether the law suit is viable), please complete this form . You can make a payment via credit card (link will take you to Paypal) or you can do a e-transfer to info@vosmi.ca after you completed the form. Thank you!

  • Petitions | VOSMI Main Site

    Petition Thank you to the honorable Doug Shipley for presenting our petition to the House of Commons on April 13, 2021, for an inquiry into the Fortress Real Development Syndicated Mortgages. A special thank you to Rose Ray, the petition committee and to all who signed this petition.

  • Regulators in the News | VOSMI Main Site

    Regulators in the news 202 0 FSRA Imposes administrative Penalty of $250,000 on Fortress Real Development Inc. September 19, 2020 2018 Ontario watchdog revokes licence of Fortress' lead mortgage broker Feb 2, 2018 Financial Post FSCO reaches $1.1 million settlement over syndicated mortgages Feb. 2, 2018 Financial Post Regulators leave Fortress investors exposed to mortgage industry Dec. 16, 2018 The Globe and Mail Fortress investors call for restitution from regulator Dec. 17, 2018 The Globe and Mail 2017 The lax oversight of syndicated mortgage is hurting Ontario investors with little relief in sight April 24, 2017 Financial Post Canada regulator ignored warnings on risky mortgage investments Nov 30, 2017 Reuters 2016 Regulators put syndicated mortgages in their crosshairs Nov , 2016, MacLeans Ontario urged to boost financial protection for consumers June 20, 2016 The Star

  • About the Trial | VOSMI Main Site

    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

  • Verdict | VOSMI Main Site

    Verdict On May 28, 2025, Justice D Moore delivered his guilty verdict on the charge of Fraud to the accused principals of Fortress. Jawad Rathore & Vince Petrozza were found guilty of Fraud over $5000. Read the complete reasoning for the judgement here. We would like to thank the Crown Prosecutors, and the RCMP IMET for their tireless work on this case. The Sentencing Hearing is to take place on December 3, 2025. More details to follow. "I find beyond a reasonable doubt that they both intentionally misled investors about the value of their secured interest in order to induce them into investing." Justice D. Moore

  • Contribution Form | VOSMI Main Site

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  • Victims of Syndicated Mortgage Investments | VOSMI

    VOSMI is an information & resource website for Fraud Victims of Syndicated Mortgage Investments, related to Fortress Real Development Syndicated Mortgages. VOSM I is a non-profit organization formed by victims of the largest mortgage investment fraud in Canada's history. We are the individuals directly impacted by the Fortress Real Developments Inc syndicated mortgage fraud, coming together to share information, raise awareness, and support one another. Fortress Real Developments raised over $920 million in syndicate mortgage investments from 14,000 "mom & pop" investors between 2008 and 2017, to help finance over 50 development projects. Investors were led to believe these were safe, low risk investments. After a lengthy and complex investigation which began in 2018, the RCMP charged the principals of Fortress on June 22, 2022 with Fraud and Secret Commissions. On May 28, 2025 the duo were found guilty of fraud. Sentencing hearing to take place December 3, 2025. Guilty of Fraud Read More Vince Petrozza and Jawad Rathore were the co-founders of Fortress Real Developments. Fortress partnered with over 25 real estate developers on over 50 projects. Read the timeline to learn more about the Fortress Syndicated Mortgage scheme. Timeline "I find beyond a reasonable doubt that they both intentionally misled investors about the value of their secured interest in order to induce them into investing." Justice D. Moore FORTRESS TRIAL R. v Rathore & Petrozza The Real Numbers 14,000 investors The number of Canadians that invested in Fortress Real Developments syndicate mortgage loans $920 Million The total amount raised by Fortress Real Developments from the syndicate mortgage investors $420 Million Total funds lost to date by the Fortress syndicate investors.

  • Contact | VOSMI

    How to contact us, whether you have a general inquiry, or whether you are an investor. INVESTOR / GENERAL INQUIRIES Please complete your information below and we will get back to you. If you have any project specific questions, please contact FAAN Mortgages . Thank you. Thank you. We will get back to you shortly. Send

  • Oct 18 protest-Ottawa | VOSMI Main Site

    Ottawa Protest- Parliament Hill, Ottawa Our third protest took place in Ottawa, October 18, 2019. Will the government increase funding to fight White Collar Crime? Many thanks to those who came out to support us!

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