Stop Land Title Fraud
Donation protected
An Open Letter to BC Homeowners - please stop land title fraud with me
Starting in the year of 2009, I encountered repeated leakages from the upstairs unit till 2019. A Realtor who managed 2 units in the building refused to provide the absentee owner's information and refused to repair the leak sources in her controlled unit. I had no choice but to take legal action against the Realtor and the absentee owner Youti Wan in 2011.
In June 2014, a lawyer claiming to be Wan's counsel announced that Wan had passed away at age 86. I then had to substitute the deceased Wan with the estate executor. However, the information I received about the disposition of Wan's estate was contradictory. These contradictions made me examine British Columbia's land title e-filing system and found that Land Title in BC is plagued by the following problems:
1) The land title e-filing system is flawed.
In Nov. 2014, I discovered that the upstairs unit was transferred to the Realtor's son for $1 consideration and the downstairs unit was sold to the Realtor's sister through a non-existent Notary Public as the seller/owner's representative.
I have come to the shocking realization that the BC Land Title and Survey Authority (LTSA) permits a notary public or a lawyer to electronically file the change of ownership by three simple steps: fill in Form A (downloaded from LTSA website), insert their digital stamp and then upload the filled-in Form A to LTSA. The e-filing registration amended in 2003 has serious loopholes which could be taken advantage of to commit fraudulent conveyance, tax evasion and money laundering by any potential fraudster who is assisted by a less than honest notary public.
2) Self-regulated professional societies are not sufficiently committed to investigating their members’ unethical activities.
I have made efforts to persuade government authorities to remedy the flawed e-filing system since 2015. I was instructed to file complaints with the Real Estate Council, Notary Public Society and Law Society. Unfortunately, I encountered red tape - none of the self-regulated organizations conducted a professional investigation in response to my complaints. Nor is there any government authority that is dedicated to investigating and prosecuting fraudulent conveyance of real estate transactions. In short, no one actually reviews the validity of e-transfers.
3) Unprofessional professionals are able to take advantage of a system based on honesty and trust.
The Land Title Act states that the party who has suffered financial loss by fraud will be compensated by the assurance fund. However, victimized homeowners must win the lawsuit against the fraudsters before claiming their loss from the assurance fund. To pursue justice is expensive, time-consuming and stressful. I have been tied up in legal actions for over 8 years but could not find the missing defendant Wan or whoever is legally representing her/his estate. Moreover, my then counsels were convinced by opposing counsels to accept fraudulent documents and pressured me to consent to the Realtor's sister being the estate executor even though I know that the estate transfer was a fraud and Wan was unrelated to the Realtor or her sister.
In July 2014, I was provided a document showing Wan's Power of Attorney claiming that the Realtor had now been appointed as executor. Wan's Power of Attorney was proved to be fraudulent as the Notary Public denied that he had notarized the document.
On Sept. 23, 2014, I was provided a document "Consent to Change of Executor" that states that the Realtor and her sister were the surviving heirs under Wan's will. This document was pronounced invalid by the Court.
On Dec. 3, 2014, Wan's lawyer declared that the Realtor's sister is Wan's only daughter, and she is not in possession of Wan's will. Wan's lawyer also claimed that there are no other heirs and the Realtor's sister has no siblings.
On Dec. 11. 2014, Wan's lawyer declared that the Realtor's sister is Wan's daughter. The Realtor is not. Wan had a relationship with the Realtor's father, so the Realtor and Wan became very close as a result. Wan's lawyer stated that she cannot explain why Wan's condo was transferred to the Realtor's son for one-dollar consideration.
On August 23, 2016, Wan's lawyer emailed the Realtor's counsel, "As far as the estate goes, I spoke to the probate lawyer and he is applying for probate and then we just wait until it is granted."
I paid much money to my then lawyers in order to resist accepting the fraud. In July 2016, the opposing lawyers filed an application to dismiss my civil claim by proceeding at a summary trial. My then counsel did not file the leak evidence and an investigation report ordered by the Court. This helped the Realtor to have my civil claim against her dismissed. I later filed a new civil claim against the Realtor and her son for the repeated leakages. My civil claim against Wan was not dismissed because Wan's lawyer's questionable representation of Wan's estate and the insurer was opposed by the Court. In Jan. 2019, another of my then counsels e-filed an amendment to consent to the Realtor's sister as Wan's estate executor in spite of my opposition. Fortunately, his e-filing was rejected due to wrongdoing. Recently this lawyer posted his opinion in a media's opinion piece: "Whistle-blowers need protection. It’s time to act." How ironic his comment is, considering what he has done to me - a long-time water damage victim and whistle-blower trying to protect the public interest.
I have been fighting against leakage, fraud and unprofessional lawyers for over 10 years. How can the average victimized homeowners and their heirs afford the cost of legal action in order to claim their loss from the assurance fund?
4) The misuse of affidavit is quite common.
An affidavit is treated as evidence in our common-law justice system. Unfortunately, it is seriously misused in the BC Court System. On June 7, 2016, the Realtor's counsel helped her file an affidavit to swear that the Realtor was simply a friend of the owner Wan. Unbelievably, 2 months later, on August 29, 2016, the Realtor committed perjury by filing another affidavit to swear that Wan was her father and also her mother and that the copy of the Wan's will she found from a Notary Public was the true copy which Wan had made nine years before.
On Feb. 7, 2017, I met the lawyer who filed Wan's probate for the Realtor and her siblings. I showed him the relevant document about the fraud. The lawyer replied that he did not care whether the Realtor and her siblings were related to Wan, as he had only been retained to file a probate. Assisted by the lawyer, the Realtor's sister was granted as Wan's estate executor by committing perjury in March 2017.
The Code of Professional Conduct for British Columbia 3.2-7 states: “A lawyer must not engage in any activity that the lawyer knows or ought to know assists in or encourages any dishonesty, crime or fraud.”
On Feb. 27, 2017, the lawyer even filed his affidavit and swore that "I am the lawyer for the applicant, in the within proceedings, and as such have personal knowledge of the facts and matters hereinafter deposed to, save and except where stated to be based upon information and belief, and where so stated, I verily believe them to be true." In probate application documents, the Realtor and her 4 siblings all become Wan's daughters, and the lawyer who swore that the mother-daughter relationship is true had knowledge of the fact that the Realtor had previously sworn an affidavit claiming that Wan was just a friend.
When lawyers “knowingly” assist others in a lie and the penalty of perjury does not matter to the affiants, how can e-filing system protect the rightful owners of property?
5) The devil is in the details.
People will say that writing a will can protect heirs from losing estate assets. However, I noted that the transfer of the upstairs unit was executed 3 months before Wan's death but e-filed the next day after Wan passed away. Therefore, Wan's unit has never been an estate asset. Nobody can ask a deceased owner to confirm whether the signature on the execution date is true or forged. Even if his/her legal heirs discover the title fraud, to win a lawsuit is very challenging.
Furthermore, when fraudsters commit title fraud, they will also likely commit tax fraud and money laundering. For example, Wan's condo was an investment property with the purchasing price at 1.6 million dollars. The condo was assessed 3.2 million in 2014 and 6.3 million in 2018. For one-dollar transfer, how much capital gains tax might be evaded?
On April 15, 2017, the Realtor and her husband claimed to lend 6.8 million dollars to their son and placed a mortgage lien on Wan's condo. The Realtor does not own a loan company, and the source of the significant amount of cash is questionable.
Tax evasion and money laundering are also suspected in the downstairs unit. When a non-existent notary public represented the foreign owner to sell her condo to the Realtor's sister, how could the payment be transferred to a non-existent professional's trust account and how were the relevant taxes paid? Also, the condo has been vacant since the Realtor's sister became the owner. Was the vacancy tax paid on the vacant home?
The lack of law enforcement has placed homeowners at risk of losing their property and Canada has become a title fraudsters' paradise. In 2015, a recognized leading lawyer Mr. Sidney Troister published an article – “The Land Titles Register: Can it be relied on? Real Estate Fraud - you're the target!”
I have been fighting hard and alone against fraud (discovered by happenstance during the lawsuit involving my home) and also in the public interest over the past ten years, but I have found it very difficult and challenging to make significant progress. Therefore, I believe it is time to make the fraud issue known to the public. I have started www.gofundme.com/stop-land-title-fraud and set a goal to raise 200K for "anti-land title fraud fund". The use of my raised fund would be audited by a Chartered Accountant and all donors are allowed to request an audited statement.
The funds raised will be used to protect homeowners by persuading government authorities to establish a Real Estate Fraud Unit/a Bureau of Investigation dedicated to investigation and prosecution like that in the U.S. (e.g.
http://www.rivcoda.org/opencms/daoffice/Units/SpecialProsecution/RealEstate) , where a victim of real estate fraud or a witness who has knowledge of such activity can file a complaint to the Real Estate Fraud Unit, and to set up and regulate a standard title insurance like that in American real estate transactions. When there is an insurer involved, the transaction documents will be reviewed carefully.
I am writing to publish my story in Asia, and the profits from my writings and compensation claimed from my lawsuit will contribute to the fund. I have recently retained a new lawyer referred by the Canadian Bar Association whom I feel I can trust. The lawyer will see possibility to launch a class- action lawsuit against government for title fraud victims. To stop nation-wide land title fraud has become my purpose in life. Please give me your support and join me to start and spread the action to cities with high rates of title fraud in Canada. I cannot accomplish this mission alone without you.
Sincerely,
Estrella
[email redacted]
Starting in the year of 2009, I encountered repeated leakages from the upstairs unit till 2019. A Realtor who managed 2 units in the building refused to provide the absentee owner's information and refused to repair the leak sources in her controlled unit. I had no choice but to take legal action against the Realtor and the absentee owner Youti Wan in 2011.
In June 2014, a lawyer claiming to be Wan's counsel announced that Wan had passed away at age 86. I then had to substitute the deceased Wan with the estate executor. However, the information I received about the disposition of Wan's estate was contradictory. These contradictions made me examine British Columbia's land title e-filing system and found that Land Title in BC is plagued by the following problems:
1) The land title e-filing system is flawed.
In Nov. 2014, I discovered that the upstairs unit was transferred to the Realtor's son for $1 consideration and the downstairs unit was sold to the Realtor's sister through a non-existent Notary Public as the seller/owner's representative.
I have come to the shocking realization that the BC Land Title and Survey Authority (LTSA) permits a notary public or a lawyer to electronically file the change of ownership by three simple steps: fill in Form A (downloaded from LTSA website), insert their digital stamp and then upload the filled-in Form A to LTSA. The e-filing registration amended in 2003 has serious loopholes which could be taken advantage of to commit fraudulent conveyance, tax evasion and money laundering by any potential fraudster who is assisted by a less than honest notary public.
2) Self-regulated professional societies are not sufficiently committed to investigating their members’ unethical activities.
I have made efforts to persuade government authorities to remedy the flawed e-filing system since 2015. I was instructed to file complaints with the Real Estate Council, Notary Public Society and Law Society. Unfortunately, I encountered red tape - none of the self-regulated organizations conducted a professional investigation in response to my complaints. Nor is there any government authority that is dedicated to investigating and prosecuting fraudulent conveyance of real estate transactions. In short, no one actually reviews the validity of e-transfers.
3) Unprofessional professionals are able to take advantage of a system based on honesty and trust.
The Land Title Act states that the party who has suffered financial loss by fraud will be compensated by the assurance fund. However, victimized homeowners must win the lawsuit against the fraudsters before claiming their loss from the assurance fund. To pursue justice is expensive, time-consuming and stressful. I have been tied up in legal actions for over 8 years but could not find the missing defendant Wan or whoever is legally representing her/his estate. Moreover, my then counsels were convinced by opposing counsels to accept fraudulent documents and pressured me to consent to the Realtor's sister being the estate executor even though I know that the estate transfer was a fraud and Wan was unrelated to the Realtor or her sister.
In July 2014, I was provided a document showing Wan's Power of Attorney claiming that the Realtor had now been appointed as executor. Wan's Power of Attorney was proved to be fraudulent as the Notary Public denied that he had notarized the document.
On Sept. 23, 2014, I was provided a document "Consent to Change of Executor" that states that the Realtor and her sister were the surviving heirs under Wan's will. This document was pronounced invalid by the Court.
On Dec. 3, 2014, Wan's lawyer declared that the Realtor's sister is Wan's only daughter, and she is not in possession of Wan's will. Wan's lawyer also claimed that there are no other heirs and the Realtor's sister has no siblings.
On Dec. 11. 2014, Wan's lawyer declared that the Realtor's sister is Wan's daughter. The Realtor is not. Wan had a relationship with the Realtor's father, so the Realtor and Wan became very close as a result. Wan's lawyer stated that she cannot explain why Wan's condo was transferred to the Realtor's son for one-dollar consideration.
On August 23, 2016, Wan's lawyer emailed the Realtor's counsel, "As far as the estate goes, I spoke to the probate lawyer and he is applying for probate and then we just wait until it is granted."
I paid much money to my then lawyers in order to resist accepting the fraud. In July 2016, the opposing lawyers filed an application to dismiss my civil claim by proceeding at a summary trial. My then counsel did not file the leak evidence and an investigation report ordered by the Court. This helped the Realtor to have my civil claim against her dismissed. I later filed a new civil claim against the Realtor and her son for the repeated leakages. My civil claim against Wan was not dismissed because Wan's lawyer's questionable representation of Wan's estate and the insurer was opposed by the Court. In Jan. 2019, another of my then counsels e-filed an amendment to consent to the Realtor's sister as Wan's estate executor in spite of my opposition. Fortunately, his e-filing was rejected due to wrongdoing. Recently this lawyer posted his opinion in a media's opinion piece: "Whistle-blowers need protection. It’s time to act." How ironic his comment is, considering what he has done to me - a long-time water damage victim and whistle-blower trying to protect the public interest.
I have been fighting against leakage, fraud and unprofessional lawyers for over 10 years. How can the average victimized homeowners and their heirs afford the cost of legal action in order to claim their loss from the assurance fund?
4) The misuse of affidavit is quite common.
An affidavit is treated as evidence in our common-law justice system. Unfortunately, it is seriously misused in the BC Court System. On June 7, 2016, the Realtor's counsel helped her file an affidavit to swear that the Realtor was simply a friend of the owner Wan. Unbelievably, 2 months later, on August 29, 2016, the Realtor committed perjury by filing another affidavit to swear that Wan was her father and also her mother and that the copy of the Wan's will she found from a Notary Public was the true copy which Wan had made nine years before.
On Feb. 7, 2017, I met the lawyer who filed Wan's probate for the Realtor and her siblings. I showed him the relevant document about the fraud. The lawyer replied that he did not care whether the Realtor and her siblings were related to Wan, as he had only been retained to file a probate. Assisted by the lawyer, the Realtor's sister was granted as Wan's estate executor by committing perjury in March 2017.
The Code of Professional Conduct for British Columbia 3.2-7 states: “A lawyer must not engage in any activity that the lawyer knows or ought to know assists in or encourages any dishonesty, crime or fraud.”
On Feb. 27, 2017, the lawyer even filed his affidavit and swore that "I am the lawyer for the applicant, in the within proceedings, and as such have personal knowledge of the facts and matters hereinafter deposed to, save and except where stated to be based upon information and belief, and where so stated, I verily believe them to be true." In probate application documents, the Realtor and her 4 siblings all become Wan's daughters, and the lawyer who swore that the mother-daughter relationship is true had knowledge of the fact that the Realtor had previously sworn an affidavit claiming that Wan was just a friend.
When lawyers “knowingly” assist others in a lie and the penalty of perjury does not matter to the affiants, how can e-filing system protect the rightful owners of property?
5) The devil is in the details.
People will say that writing a will can protect heirs from losing estate assets. However, I noted that the transfer of the upstairs unit was executed 3 months before Wan's death but e-filed the next day after Wan passed away. Therefore, Wan's unit has never been an estate asset. Nobody can ask a deceased owner to confirm whether the signature on the execution date is true or forged. Even if his/her legal heirs discover the title fraud, to win a lawsuit is very challenging.
Furthermore, when fraudsters commit title fraud, they will also likely commit tax fraud and money laundering. For example, Wan's condo was an investment property with the purchasing price at 1.6 million dollars. The condo was assessed 3.2 million in 2014 and 6.3 million in 2018. For one-dollar transfer, how much capital gains tax might be evaded?
On April 15, 2017, the Realtor and her husband claimed to lend 6.8 million dollars to their son and placed a mortgage lien on Wan's condo. The Realtor does not own a loan company, and the source of the significant amount of cash is questionable.
Tax evasion and money laundering are also suspected in the downstairs unit. When a non-existent notary public represented the foreign owner to sell her condo to the Realtor's sister, how could the payment be transferred to a non-existent professional's trust account and how were the relevant taxes paid? Also, the condo has been vacant since the Realtor's sister became the owner. Was the vacancy tax paid on the vacant home?
The lack of law enforcement has placed homeowners at risk of losing their property and Canada has become a title fraudsters' paradise. In 2015, a recognized leading lawyer Mr. Sidney Troister published an article – “The Land Titles Register: Can it be relied on? Real Estate Fraud - you're the target!”
I have been fighting hard and alone against fraud (discovered by happenstance during the lawsuit involving my home) and also in the public interest over the past ten years, but I have found it very difficult and challenging to make significant progress. Therefore, I believe it is time to make the fraud issue known to the public. I have started www.gofundme.com/stop-land-title-fraud and set a goal to raise 200K for "anti-land title fraud fund". The use of my raised fund would be audited by a Chartered Accountant and all donors are allowed to request an audited statement.
The funds raised will be used to protect homeowners by persuading government authorities to establish a Real Estate Fraud Unit/a Bureau of Investigation dedicated to investigation and prosecution like that in the U.S. (e.g.
http://www.rivcoda.org/opencms/daoffice/Units/SpecialProsecution/RealEstate) , where a victim of real estate fraud or a witness who has knowledge of such activity can file a complaint to the Real Estate Fraud Unit, and to set up and regulate a standard title insurance like that in American real estate transactions. When there is an insurer involved, the transaction documents will be reviewed carefully.
I am writing to publish my story in Asia, and the profits from my writings and compensation claimed from my lawsuit will contribute to the fund. I have recently retained a new lawyer referred by the Canadian Bar Association whom I feel I can trust. The lawyer will see possibility to launch a class- action lawsuit against government for title fraud victims. To stop nation-wide land title fraud has become my purpose in life. Please give me your support and join me to start and spread the action to cities with high rates of title fraud in Canada. I cannot accomplish this mission alone without you.
Sincerely,
Estrella
[email redacted]