2 cities, 2 buildings and 1 fugitive landlord leaves tenants in unlivable conditions

A fugitive sought accused of being the leader of a grandparents’ scam has left tenants in two cities in southwest Ontario with a large number of maintenance problems and no one to resort to help.

Gareth West, 45, has two apartment buildings in London and St. Thomas, according to the records of properties obtained by CBC News. He has been generally since the US authorities issued an arrest warrant for him in February for the alleged scam calling center operating in Montreal, disappointing American elderly people of more than $ 21 million in the United States.

The tenants in their two buildings say they have not been able to take into account the west in months. At that time, they have treated sporadic energy and water interruptions, garbage that accumulate, their units that need significant repairs and now, without a owner, they are not sure of what is coming later.

“We have a bit in Limbo. Gareth is missing in action and nobody knows where he is,” said Audrey Knight, who lives in 14 Holland Street, a three -story walk in St. Thomas where he pays $ 1,900 for rent every month.

“We have an email [contact] And he does not receive answers, so we are only trying to navigate where we are going and unfortunately nobody has great answers to us, “Knight said.

Audrey Knight in 14 Holland Street in St. Thomas says that, in the absence of their owner, the tenants have had to assume responsibilities such as cleaning the building, the care of the grass, garbage collection and maintenance in the building. (Isha Bhargava/CBC)

Although residents stayed up to date with their monthly rent, the energy was cut for several hours on Tuesday because its owner has not paid the hydroelectric invoices. The garbage has not been collected since April and some residents have been in charge of making grass care and cleaning the building, Knight said.

“It is very stressful when it is not known from one day to another if I am going to have water or electricity because we pay all our bills,” said Wendy Nichols, 70, who has lived in the building for almost six years.

Residents said they will not pay the rent until the situation is resolved, and some who say that efforts to make their payments have not been successful have not been successful. A handful of residents said their deposits were not accepted, although others said the money was withdrawn from their accounts.

Gareth West, 45, owns two apartment buildings in southwest Ontario. He has been in the race since the US authorities issued an arrest warrant for him in February for the alleged scam call center that operated in Montreal, disappointing American elderly people of more than $ 21 million in the United States. (Gareth West/Instagram)

The city of St. Thomas has issued orders of property standards, allowing the Statutes to enforce the Law of Residential Holidays. The tenants believe that the next step will be for the bank to take over the property and go on sale again.

Property records show that West bought in the building in 2022 and Nichols said it is among the few residents who have known it. She said she offered a $ 20,000 purchase to move to another place, so that she could renew the property and increase the rent, which she rejected.

West has described on social networks as a real estate builder and health enthusiast, and made several Instagram videos standing out of their properties, even in St. Thomas, where he would give advice on the Vistage Properties and the use of the “Cash For Keys” model to renew the tenants.

The water heater in the other West rental in 308 Egerton Street in London has a signal warning others that do not use it since it is broken. The tenants are trying to fix it, but they are told that they may have paid in their pocket, which is not affordable for most. (Alessio Donnini/CBC)

He and another 25 face fraud charges to the cable in the United States for the alleged grandparents’ scam, and if West is convicted, he could spend 40 years in jail.

West’s London, Ontario. property

It is a similar situation for tenants in their other rent in 308 Egerton Street in London.

The residents of the apartment have joined efforts to fix their water heater, but they are told that they could have to incur those costs in their pocket, which most people cannot pay, said Cheyenne Lamieux, who has lived there since September.

Wendy Nichols is among the tenants on a property of St. Thomas owned by the alleged fugitive Gareth West, who says they have had to assume responsibilities and expenses of maintaining their rent in the absence of their landlord, who faces charges for administering a network of grandparents' scams that defrauded the seniors of millions of millions. — Wendy Nichols is among the tenants on a property of St. Thomas owned by the alleged fugitive Gareth West, who says they have had to assume responsibilities and expenses of maintaining their rent in the absence of their landlord, who faces charges for administering a network of grandparents’ scams that defrauded the seniors of millions of millions. (Isha Bhargava/CBC)

“Now we have been without hot water during the week and half, our garbage has not been taken in more than a month. There is garbage everywhere, some of us have kept it in our units because we do not know what to do with it. We are drowning in it,” said tenant Andrew Foster.

“It has been a fairly difficult situation, especially because I have two young children.”

The tenants said they are frustrated because they have been forced to assume responsibilities in which they were not registered.

“We are supposed to pay the rent and that is why someone moves to an apartment, so they do not have to deal with the other things with having a house, but we care about garbage, grass and cleaning of the building. It would be good to worry about my own apartment and not all the other things that have come with him,” Knight said.

The city officials in London and St. Thomas did not respond to requests for comments on time for publication.