The RCMP have charged four Ontario men with fraud for misusing $9-million in investor funds intended for real estate developments. Two of the accused, Michael Hyman and Giuseppe Anastasio, are co-founders of Noble Developments Corp., which was already at the centre of related fraud allegations in civil court.
A criminal investigation found that retail investors, including many from Brampton, Ont.’s Sikh community, paid money to Thrive Capital Management Ltd., an unregistered investment manager, which forwarded more than $9-million to Noble Developments for planned housing projects.
But, instead of making the promised investments, the four accused used the funds to cover their personal expenses and other costs unrelated to construction, the RCMP said in a news release.
The criminal charges are a result of a joint investigation – dubbed Project OEmpire – that involved an RCMP market enforcement team and the Ontario Securities Commission. The four men are scheduled to appear in court in Toronto on Sept. 21.
Mr. Hyman and Mr. Anastasio have each been charged with fraud over $5,000 and intent to obtain property by way of a false pretense.
Mr. Hyman, a former football player who was on the practice rosters for the Toronto Argonauts and the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, has also been charged with using forged documents to conceal the fraud from investors.
Lorne Sabsay, a lawyer for Mr. Hyman, declined to comment on the charges because they are still before the courts. But he said in an e-mail that his client “will vigorously defend against them.”
David Bowen, a former Noble Developments executive from Owen Sound, has been charged with fraud over $5,000 and using forged documents, while Harjot Singh, a principal of Thrive, has been charged with using forged documents.
A lawyer for Mr. Anastasio did not respond to a request for comment. Mr. Bowen and Mr. Singh could not be reached for comment.
Although the criminal allegations against the men have not been proven in court, two Ontario judges have already ruled against Mr. Hyman and Mr. Anastasio in a separate civil case that revolves around the same $9-million.
The civil case began in 2020, when a group of about 100 investors filed a lawsuit against Thrive, Noble Developments and another Southern Ontario home builder, Moninder Khudal.
In the lawsuit, the investors alleged that they had collectively given the $9-million to Thrive believing it would be forwarded to Noble Developments to fund land purchases in Brampton and Richmond Hill, Ont., where the developer had said it intended to build 82 homes.
Ontario Superior Court Justice Markus Koehnen ruled that the funds invested by Thrive had not been used to buy the Brampton and Richmond Hill properties, “but appear to have been used to pay Hyman, Anastasio and Bowen large sums of money.” In an earlier ruling in June, 2020, Justice Koehnen found that Mr. Hyman had made a $171,000 down payment on a 2019 Lamborghini Aventador the same day $200,000 was removed from a bank account that held investors’ money.
In January, 2021, Justice Koehnen issued a rare judgment without a trial and ordered Mr. Hyman and Mr. Anastasio to repay $9-million to investors.
At the time, Justice Koehnen said the accused had repeatedly disregarded his pretrial orders, including by failing to provide an accurate list of assets and a full accounting of the $9-million invested by Thrive.
Both Mr. Hyman and Mr. Anastasio appealed the decision. During a re-hearing before the Ontario Superior Court , Justice Jessica Kimmel agreed with Justice Koehnen’s findings and observations, and sentenced the two men to serve 30 days each in jail for contempt of court.
Mr. Hyman and Mr. Anastasio have been ordered to bring themselves into compliance with court orders by Sept. 7, 2022, in part by providing accurate financial statements.
They are scheduled to appear in court for the civil lawsuit on Sept. 14.
Editor’s note: This story has been corrected to reflect that a re-hearing was held before the Ontario Superior Court.
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Clare O’Hara