The Givers, the Takers, and the Victims - Verico the Mortgage Station
How deeply does a person need to bury their morality to justify cheating seniors and veterans, or to grift resources from local charities? Likewise, what is missing ethically from any person who enables such behaviour?
In Simcoe County, the façade of ethics that has been projected by the brokers at Verico the Mortgage Station is being stripped by public exposure, and their criminal-level breaches of trust are dragging their brand and reputation through a cesspool, along with those of their closest allies at Verico Financial Group Inc. and HomeEquity Bank.
Now, their fully documented crime of usury, or loan sharking, is the subject of an expose documentary that will be broadcast across Canada and on streaming services. The intent is to warn potentially vulnerable seniors from across Canada who are drawn to the brokerages of the Verico Financial Group Inc. to obtain a CHIP Reverse Mortgage from the HomeEquity Bank.
Also being investigated is the decision by detectives and the top brass at the South Simcoe Police Service to ignore for a full year the crimes committed by the wealthy and locally influential brokers, and then to arbitrarily omit key bank and mortgage financial records as evidence so they could protect the wealthy brokers and their multi-million and multi-billion-dollar allies.
That issue has been temporarily set aside by the Office of the Independent Police Review Director and is now being redirected for review by the Divisional Court. Once the truth is exposed through the presentation instead of omission of evidence, the less than thorough whitewash by detectives of the South Simcoe Police Service will most likely be reassessed by the less easily 'motivated' detectives of the Ontario Provincial Police Financial Crimes Division.
To better understand this story, we recommend reviewing the synopsis at www.themortgagestation.tv
The concise accounting is that our producer, a leading philanthropist and community-recognized altruistic and active supporter of hundreds of local charities, not-for-profits, and benevolent community groups, turned to Lisa Purchase, a broker at Verico the Mortgage Station, seeking help in refinancing after the pandemic. Our goal was to finish the construction of two video studios that we planned to use to produce fully donated charitable programming that would help the most vulnerable people in our community and those who volunteer to support them.
Much to his surprise and expense, by the end of the process, he was victimized by polished and practised methods of manipulation and forced to accept the illegal lending rate of 198.25% interest on a short-term loan, which is a crime called usury, or loan sharking, and is punishable by a prison term of up to five years. He also lost tens of thousands of dollars in income when he was forced to wait three times as long for the mortgage that he was promised would close in three weeks. Finally, over $8,000.00 just magically disappeared from the payout of the mortgage that he had to fight to recover by presenting his evidence directly to the lender after the brokers at Verico the Mortgage Station refused to reply to his emails or phone messages. That is what happens when somebody is caught doing something seriously wrong.
Most people hold to ethical guardrails that compel them to fix or own the wrongs that they have done to others, which is why normal people don't rob a blind person, deprive help to a sick child, ignore an animal in pain, or steal the last pittance from a homeless person. Sadly, both directly and as a ripple effect, that is the path being wilfully followed by the brokers at Verico the Mortgage Station and their allies at Verico Financial Group Inc. and the HomeEquity Bank.
During the 18 months since the crimes were committed, regardless of the extensive exposure that was accomplished through multiple evidence-supported videos and articles, there have been no ethical epiphanies. There has been no admission of accountability, nor any offer to fully repay what was stolen by the brokers at Verico the Mortgage Station. There has only been a chronic denial of the public humiliation, and a total refusal to meet under any circumstances.
When it comes to David Flude, Lisa Purchase, Renee Dadswell, and their allies Mark Squire, President and Chief Operations Officer at Verico Financial Group Inc., and Yvonne Ziomecki-Fisher, Executive Vice President, Marketing and Sales at the HomeEquity Bank, there seems to be no depth to which they will not bury their ethics to evade responsibility for their actions. Meanwhile, public interest and media scrutiny continue to increase, and the brokers at Verico the Mortgage Station and their allies have front-row seats at an interactive demonstration of the spiralling cost of social justice in a world where the truth is accessible to everybody.
The Givers . . .
Five Points Media is a not-for-profit social enterprise that exists to help those in our community who need help or who do not have a voice. To accomplish this, we donate video production services including equipment and crew, for the creation of promotional, fundraising, and educational programming. We do not charge anything to charities, not-for-profits, or benevolent community groups. Since the start of the pandemic, we have had no outside support, and even when we did accept a token amount of commercial sponsorship, at least eighty per cent of our funding came from income earned by our commercial division.
In 2020, at the height of the pandemic, the contributions of Five Points Media were acknowledged by the City of Barrie and the Greater Barrie Chamber of Commerce when our producers were nominated for and voted to the highest levels for a city-wide award for altruism. Our producer also gets up early three days a week to help provide food and the necessities of life to those living without shelter, and to the working poor who must otherwise choose between their home and food.
The images below were selected from the hundreds of events our crew has attended in support of local charities, not-for-profits, and benevolent community groups. If you want to know more about us, please visit fivepointsmedia.ca. We are proud to be able to say that prior to our experience with the brokers of Verico the Mortgage Station, we had never declined to provide support to any local charity, not-for-profit, or benevolent community group. Some of our videos have been simple stand-up informational videos, while others have been more complicated, like when we used video magic to give superpowers to survivors of childhood cancer. No two are alike and all are original.
To the best of our knowledge, Five Points Media stands alone as a fully self-financed community channel that exists to help those in need. The brokers of Verico the Mortgage Station were fully aware of who we are and what we give every day to our community. Regardless, they saw an opportunity to defraud a senior, veteran, and active supporter of hundreds of local charities, and they did not appear to care who, or what benevolent groups, they hurt in the process.
Neither David Flude, nor Lisa Purchase, Renee Dadswell, Mark Squire, and Yvonne Ziomecki-Fisher have ever shown us any indication that they care at all about anybody but themselves. What they have demonstrated is a willingness to grift, to lie at a pathological level, to violate 'regulatory requirements', and to do whatever it takes to satisfy their greed. If they have not been an active participant in a scheme, they helped to cover up the abuse of trust, or they turned a blind to their responsibilities.
We will use this expose documentary to educate potentially vulnerable seniors about the risks of dealing with brokers like those at Verico the Mortgage Station, what to expect in the way of support from the head office like Verico Financial Group Inc., and what to be aware of when signing up a CHIP Reverse Mortgage like the one provided by HomeEquity Bank.
We had hoped that the highly illegal interest rate of 198.25% charged by the brokers at Verico the Mortgage Station on a loan had been unintentional or that they did not know their actions were grounds for an indictable offence of usury, or loan sharking, that brought with it a prison sentence of up to five years. However, in time it became clear that our faith in their morality had been unjustified.
The Takers . . .
The brokers at Verico the Mortgage Station did not take ownership of their 'mistakes', they did not apologetically repay all, and not just begrudgingly part of what they skimmed illegally, and they did not offer compensation for the unexplained series of delays that tripled the time needed to secure financing, which cost our producer thousands of dollars in income that we could no longer invest in producing fully-donated videos that help local charities, not-for-profits, and benevolent community groups. When he was confronted with the facts that our producer suggested taking to court, David Flude laughed as if he thought he was above the law. We have to wonder if David Flude is still laughing.
We also think it is likely that Mark Squire and Yvonne Ziomecki-Fisher no longer think it was a good idea to ignore the evidence of crimes that were directly linked to both Verico Financial Group Inc. and HomeEquity Bank, and that maybe they should have put their client first by pressuring the brokers at Verico the Mortgage Station to do the right thing, to obey the law, and to exercise the ethics required of their profession. If they had done so, neither the board of directors at Verico Financial Group Inc. nor HomeEquity Bank would now be wondering how to resolve this exposure, and how to repair the damage their negligence has done to their respective brands.
Honest and ethical people do not hide from their actions. By refusing to face their abuses and/or negligence, the brokers at Verico the Mortgage Station and their allies at Verico Financial Group Inc. and HomeEquity Bank fully disproved any notion that perhaps they had been unaware that they had cheated a senior and veteran, and drained the resources of a not-for-profit service that has been helping all manner of community groups and those in need since 2014.
David Flude, as principal broker at Verico the Mortgage Station, initiated the exposure of this story by refusing for a year to meet with his client to discuss how his broker, Renee Dadswell, with the assistance of Lisa Purchase, committed the indictable offence of usury, or loan sharking.
David Flude also noted in an email that his refusal to meet violated the 'regulatory requirements' that permitted him to work as a mortgage broker under the authority of the Financial Services Regulatory Authority of Ontario (FSRA). David Flude also lied openly six times in two emails to avoid meeting (1) (2), and it seems obvious that somebody with resources or local influence 'motivated' the small-town South Simcoe Police Service to omit evidence of their crimes, while the brokers hid for eighteen months to avoid scrutiny of their actions. Just how often do these criminal abuses of trust occur to become so commonplace?
Constable Jason Muto of the South Simcoe Police Service had no legitimate grounds to simply omit a bank-issued statement and the mortgage Funds Disbursement Record that was produced by the brokers at Verico the Mortgage Station. Together they proved the charge of usury or loan sharking, but without them, he could falsely claim there was 'insufficient evidence'. Imagine the reaction of the court if the evidence of a drug bust was just 'omitted' with a flush at the scene and the dealer was released due to 'insufficient evidence'. That is why Muto's 'investigation' was supposed to be reviewed by the Office of the Independent Police Review Director and will now be ruled upon by the Divisional Court.
The conduct of these entrusted 'professionals' is antithetical to the ethics of anybody who does not wish to work maliciously. Their actions and the evidence confirm that the brokers at Verico the Mortgage Station knew they were stealing by usury from a senior, a veteran, and somebody who gives back more to local charities, not-for-profits and benevolent community groups than is true of the vast majority of our population. It is also well-supported that those listed who were not actively involved in the initial scam did knowingly assist as accessories after the fact to help the thieves limit exposure and liability.
The Victims . . .
Although our producer did lose some money due to the crime of usury, or loan sharking, it is the community and those most in need who have paid the highest price for the lies, manipulation, and loan sharking undertaken by the brokers at Verico the Mortgage Station, with the assistance of their allies at Verico Financial Group Inc. and HomeEquity Bank. Our not-for-profit community service is 100% self-financed, so if somebody we made the mistake of trusting steals our money, we can't produce and donate services to those in need. We are not by any means wealthy, but we choose to contribute all that we are able.
Due to the stalling games played by Lisa Purchase, which lasted for six full weeks longer than promised, we could not use our studio to earn income. That is a long time to be without stable cash flow, especially immediately after the official end of the pandemic, and we estimate our losses to be in the tens of thousands of dollars.
Without that income, our ability to produce fully donated community programming has been greatly reduced, with our service now producing only a small fraction of our normal contributions to charities, not-for-profits, and benevolent community groups in Simcoe County. The trickle-down effect of this act of unethical greed is that the organizations we serve have not had the fundraising or awareness videos they need, and their income from fundraising has been affected adversely as a result. In addition to cheating our producer through usury, the never-explained nor justified delays manufactured by these 'professionals' skimmed the poor and grifted charities like those that support the parents of children fighting cancer, and about 180 others.
Our crew has managed to continue producing a few fully donated videos for charities, not-for-profits, and benevolent community groups in Simcoe County. However, the number is much lower than during previous times, before we lost tens of thousands of dollars in income due to manipulation and fraud by the brokers of Verico the Mortgage Station. The losses due to the crimes committed were exacerbated by having to recover after the pandemic and by the government's Bill C-18 war with social media.
The brokers and their allies know all this because they visit this website frequently, and often multiple times in one day. Regardless, they still refuse to accept that they acted unethically, even though each of the brokers at Verico the Mortgage Station has admitted (1) (2) (3) that they stole money by usury after manipulating their mark to compel him to accept the illegal loan shark borrowing rate of 198.25 per cent on a loan of $2,000.00 that just 46 days later cost him $500.00 in interest and contrived fees.
Despite the anonymous threat of litigation, dated December 27, 2023, no claim of damages has been filed by the brokers at Verico the Mortgage Station or their allies at Verico Financial Group Inc. or HomeEquity Bank. Also, no statement of claim or motion record has been served seeking injunctive relief to prevent us from telling this story. Based on the evidence, any Justice of the Superior Court would see the real reasons for civil action, and they would most likely dismiss the claim and order significant costs.
The target of their threats is a small, not-for-profit, community channel, so what exactly are these multi-million and multi-billion-dollar corporations afraid of?
In Canada, the wealthy cannot abuse the true purpose of the civil court system to silence an 'agitator', such as a journalist or producer of socially poignant documentaries. They also cannot use litigation to prevent the exposure of crimes they committed. Doing so is another criminal offence under the laws of obstruction of justice. On September 10, 2020, the Supreme Court of Canada released companion decisions considering Ontario's anti-SLAPP Strategic Litigation Against Public Participation legislation: Bent et al. v. Platnick, et al. and 1704604 Ontario Ltd. v. Pointes Protection Association, et al. aimed at prohibiting groundless litigation that is intended solely to silence individuals and organizations and prevent them from speaking out on issues of public interest. Anybody who doubts the validity of our claims needs only to ask themselves why these multi-million and multi-billion-dollar companies have taken no action against our small not-for-profit community channel.
Within the flaccid 'Notice of Slander and Libel' that has never been filed with the court, the anonymous author showed their sense of entitlement and contempt for both the law and the common man when they noted: "You claim to be overcharged a few hundred dollars - certainly no one here is attempting to get rich from your $200." It is worth noting that at no point within the content of this rant does the author ever deny that his brokers stole money, regardless of the amount, from a client whom they were entrusted to help, or that they unnecessarily extended the process even though they knew they were causing the not-for-profit to lose the income that would be used to support those in need. It is also a fact that although Renee Dadswell reluctantly and begrudgingly returned less than half of the money she stole by usury, eighteen months later, the brokers at Verico the Mortgage Station still retain the remaining stolen money . . . hoarding the precious like Gollum coveting his golden ring.
The arrogance of this statement is very revealing about the moral fibre of David Flude, or the cowardly anonymous writer, as for many Canadian families $200.00 is all they have for a week's groceries. This 'privileged' brokerage owner is also apparently some kind of business genius, as due to our exposure of how they stole a few hundred dollars, and cost our charity work tens of thousands, the brokers at Verico the Mortgage Station, and their allies at Verico Financial Group Inc. and HomeEquity Bank have lost an incalculable amount of income for their business.
In October 2023, we were carbon-copied to an email conversation between David Flude and a potential new client named Elizabeth. The broker lost his client, and the commission on an $800.000.00+ mortgage and based on her reading of our fully supported and uncontested reporting of the facts, she went so far as to call David Flude a liar and to tell him she never wanted to hear from him again. The 'privileged' owner admitted that others had found our work, and he whined: "This is my livelihood so it's important to me."
So why, unless they are guilty, are David Flude and his allies doing nothing but hiding from our allegations?
Even for us, as a self-financed not-for-profit, $200.00 is not a lot of money. However, it is enough to pay for the out-of-pocket expenses for two fundraising or educational videos, like the 350 plus that we have donated since 2014 to hundreds of local charities, not-for-profits, and benevolent community groups. That means that we would use that 'insignificant' amount of money to help those in the greatest need of support or those who have no voice in our community. In sharp contrast, David Flude appears to see the stolen money as fodder for fun, or some kind of prize to cherish. It is also an embarrassing fact that David Flude chose not to hire a lawyer to write the anonymous 'Notice of Slander or Libel' that was never served.
That suggests that the small legal fee associated with that service was a tad too rich for his blood.
We don't know how often the brokers at Verico the Mortgage Station have defrauded their clients through usury, or loan sharking, but they certainly are not doing much, if anything, to defend their reputations, or that of their business, or those of their allies. After about 550 days of reporting they 'finally' threatened us from anonymity. We replied by calling them out because it is not libellous to tell the truth, and then they appeared to have called on brokers from across the country to help them come up with a plan. Then, they tucked their tails and went back into hiding from scrutiny.
As can be seen in the two counters included at the top of each page, we have been reporting on this story for almost 600 days as of the day of this posting, and it is close to a month since we were vacuously threatened with legal action. During that time, we have been visited by a virtual army of lawyers from across the province and even the United States. However, none of them appears to be interested in accepting a retainer to litigate this case against a self-represented owner of a not-for-profit community channel that exists to help people in need and those without a voice.
It also likely caught their eyes that our producer has defeated several Bay St. law firms when others with secrets tried and failed to use the courts to suppress his rights as a journalist. Several periodic updates can be found on our Latest News page, dated December 29, 2023, January 6, 2024, January 20, 2024, and January 24, 2024.
All subjects of interest in this story have been offered multiple opportunities to provide their side of the story through an on-camera interview, but none of them have shown the courage to reply. They have also all declined to meet with our producer through a 'Without Prejudice' meeting, at which time they could show evidence to disprove our allegations. Although the representatives of these multi-million and multi-billion-dollar companies have chosen to hide from our reporting and evidence while sending anonymous and unfulfilled threats of litigation, our producer and team have not hidden who or where we are. Regardless, no lawyer representing any of the multi-million and multi-billion-dollar companies has ever made any attempt to contact us.
The exposure of any feigned 'mistake' should have been dealt with by David Flude eighteen months ago by arranging to meet, as is demanded of the 'regulatory requirements' of the Financial Services Regulatory Authority of Ontario (FSRA), to address the issue of loan sharking that was committed by Renee Dadswell with the assistance of Lisa Purchase, and undertaken with the full knowledge and consent of David Flude as Principal Broker at Verico the Mortgage Station. It was David Flude's 'privileged' attitude and belief that he could simply ignore the law and hide from that responsibility that caused our interest in this story.
Regardless of their reasoning or cowardice, it is the charities, not-for-profits, and benevolent groups of our community who continue to pay for the egos and crimes of the brokers at Verico the Mortgage Station, and their allies at Verico Financial Group Inc. and HomeEquity Bank. Before we, and by extension our community, were defrauded, we were proud to be able to say that we never declined to donate our services to any benevolent group that needed our help. Now, sadly, due to the lies, manipulation and loan sharking committed by the brokers at Verico the Mortgage Station, we must ration our services.
We also have little choice but to focus on projects like this documentary, which has a budget but still fits our mandate of serving the community through education; in this case, specifically vulnerable seniors who have the right to know the risks associated with trusting the wolves in sheep's clothing at Verico the Mortgage Station and their allies at Verico Financial Group Inc. and HomeEquity Bank.
The tens of thousands of dollars that we lost in income due to the con games played by the brokers at Verico the Mortgage Station caused a ripple effect that will likely result in the closure of our fully donated community services. That shift will, however, enable us to concentrate more on projects like this expose documentary, through which we are exposing the true faces of the thieves, loan sharks, pathological liars, and accomplices whose actions caused that loss to our community.
So, karma seems to be hard at work, and justice is being served.