Looks so real....
Back in January I read with much interest (humorous) the St. Pete Times article about the fake Catholic priest who (allegedly) fleeced Florida condo developers for millions. It seems the Very Reverend Father Barney Canada became a go-to guy for developers who could not obtain capital from more conventional channels (like banks). His holiness would get big bucks upfront from the challenged developers in return for a promise of needed capital. Problem was, the capital was never delivered.
One of those challenged developers was SimDag, of the failed Trump Tower Tampa. Father Barney (allegedly) fleeced them for $150k in upfront fees for a $200 million loan that never materialized. And there were other experienced Florida condo developers who were also victims. Fast forward to now, and Mr. Canada has been indicted (31 counts).
The article mentions that Mr. Canada had previously either ran, or served time, for other advanced fee schemes, and that his office can supply no evidence that he ever closed a commercial loan. Wow! So much for due diligence…
Read the St. Pete Times article.
Related: Condos Suck
RSS