Someone may have used Whistler’s name to rip off investors from
the Lower Mainland Asian community.
Jamie Lee first told her story on BC-CTV in July, tearfully
recalling how she sunk over $167,000 into a new development project dubbed the
Lakelands at Green Lake.
Advertised as the last big development in Whistler, plans for
the 113-hectare parcel of land on the northeast shore of Green Lake included a
golf course, hotel, spa and an international school. Chateau Nova, the company
behind the project, timed its proposal to coincide with the buildup to the 2010
Olympics.
But Chateau Nova never owned the property.
Drew Meredith, a long-time local realtor and former mayor of
Whistler, remembers hearing about the development in 2005, when he was acting
on behalf of the property owners.
“It was pretty sketchy from the get-go,” said Meredith.
The project had major zoning issues — the whole parcel is
zoned for four single-family homes, not the massive development Chateau Nova
was proposing. There was also the question of bed units, Whistler’s currency
for development rights and part of the cap on development. The bed units for
the proposed project did not exist.
But Reza Farkoush, a Vancouver immigration consultant who
represented Chateau Nova, didn’t seem to be concerned about the bed cap when he
spoke with a Pique reporter in April of 2005.
“We are not worried about that,” Farkoush said at the time.
Meredith said he dealt with a woman named Parvin Saadati, who
kept extending options to purchase the land for almost two years. But she never
actually closed on the property.
“She ended up basically flipping her right to purchase to some
other people just prior to when she had to close, because she couldn’t put the
deal together and she was unable to finance the transaction,” said Meredith.
Meredith said red flags went up when he was visited by a number
of agencies and individuals who were looking for Saadati.
“I got the distinct impression that she was just burning people
left, right and centre and that they were turning her in.”
So he wasn’t surprised to see the story appear on BC-CTV a few
weeks ago.
The people who ended up purchasing the land are in no way
affiliated with Chateau Nova or the Lakelands at Green Lake.
Meredith doesn’t know if Saadati and her colleagues intended to
scam investors out of money, because they seemed to be making a legitimate
effort to get the project off the ground. But when things didn’t work out
Saadati disappeared, and so did investors’ money.
“If you put all the cards on the table and said did she do any
wrong? Well, lots of people are investing in lots of things that are sketchy,”
said Meredith.
Myron Barr, a Vancouver-based lawyer who represented Jamie Lee,
said Lee heard of the investment opportunity from a “friend of a friend”
sometime in 2005.
The idea was that Lee would borrow money to lend to the Chateau
Nova people to purchase land in Whistler for development, and get $5,000 for
her troubles.
“If you get us this X amount of dollars, you can make $5,000
and we’ll repay it within eight months,” said Barr.
X-amount of dollars ended up being $167,000, which Lee borrowed
from banks.
“Basically, what they wanted to do — and what they did do
— was convince her that this was a good opportunity,” said Barr.
Soon after, they stopped making payments, and Lee got
worried.
She contacted Barr, who
filed a statement of claim and won a default judgment against the companies.
But they’ve been unable to locate the three defendants —
Mary Jane Chan, Reza Farkoush and Parvin Saadati — and Barr is skeptical
they will be able to get Lee’s money back.
“There’s some hope, but the companies are no longer around, and
it’s a matter of trying to find the individuals,” said Barr.
“… My suspicion is that the money’s all gone.”
Lee has since learned that she was not the only one ripped off,
but Barr isn’t sure exactly how many people are in the same situation.
He said the RCMP and the B.C. Securities Commission have been
notified about the scam.
Lynda Pasacreta, president of Better Business Bureau’s Lower
Mainland B.C. chapter, said the BBB hasn’t received any formal complaints about
Chateau Nova, but she has heard about this particular “get rich quick scheme.”
She calls it a prime example of affinity fraud, which is common throughout the
province.
Affinity fraudsters target a specific group by befriending
them, gaining their trust and then letting them in on their hot business tip.
“They know who to target — they go after seniors, they go
after ESL, new Canadians,” said Pasacreta.
With rapid growth and developments in some regions of the
province, Pasacreta said people have to do their homework before investing.
“I think people get so excited by high-pressure sales tactics
that they… skip through all the due diligence.”
She recommends contacting the BBB to see if there have been
complaints made against a company. People can also speak with someone on the
BBB staff to see if they think the investment sounds legitimate.
It’s also a good idea to contact the Canadian Homebuilder’s
Association to see if a company is a “reputable developer.”
If someone suspects they’re being targeted by a scam artist,
Pasacreta said they can contact the BBB to investigate.
“We’ll work with other agencies if we do see something that’s not right.”
