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Saskatoon police have charged two men, ages 36 and 42, after a two-year investigation into alleged frauds involving mortgage applications.
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Police said in a media release on Wednesday that the investigation started March 1, 2021 after they received a report that falsified banking documents were submitted with several mortgage applications at a local bank.
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Police said further investigation traced the documents back to to mortgages submitted by two Saskatoon realtors; eight applications with false documents were discovered at one institution.
Officers in the economic crime unit executed search warrants at three locations: in the 200 block of Palliser Court, the 3400 block of McClockin Road and the 1100 block of Eighth Street East.
Police said the search resulted in the seizure of more fraudulent documents connected to mortgage applications at several other financial institutions.
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The 36-year-old was arrested after turning himself in on Jan. 9. He is charged with two counts of fraud over $5,000.
Court records identify him as Debashis Deb, and he is expected to next appear in court on April 4.
The 42-year-old turned himself in at police headquarters on Wednesday and is facing 17 counts of fraud over $5,000. His name was not released and he has not yet made his first court appearance.
Saskatoon police said in an email that all charges involved mortgages for different people, but there were a couple of instances where the same mortgage application was used for more than one financial institution.
Three financial institutions were affected, police said, describing the investigation as “very complex and unique,” involving police working with financial institutions and other organizations and a “large number” of investigative hours.
