Alberta man jailed for multi-million mortgage scam

Thursday, 24 June 2010

An Alberta man was sentenced to three years in prison for a $3.9-million rural mortgage scam that included 32 separate fraud charges over two years.
In the Edmonton courtroom on Wednesday June 23, Eugene Charnczuk, 40, was also ordered to pay approximately $1.3 million to the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, Genworth Financial, CIBC and TD Canada Trust, reported the Edmonton Sun.
"White-collar crime is a serious matter, which should have serious consequences," said Richard Marceau, Court of Queen's Bench Justice.
The scam involved persuading so-called straw buyers to give up their names and credit information along with a $5,000 fee. Charnczuk and his co-accused James Steinhubl bought 31 residential lots in the Warburg and Empress townships of Alberta with the info, leaving the tricked loan applicants to pay for the fraudulent mortgages.