People make mistakes, and sometimes they unknowingly break the law. However, the moment they perpetuate the crime, it is no longer a mistake, and they have chosen a path of immorality and unethical behaviour that can ultimately lead to self-destruction. In law school, the example is given that a doctor is called while in a restaurant for an emergency procedure that only they can perform, and when they cannot find the waiter to pay, they simply leave. If they come back later, explain the emergency and pay the bill, no charges would ever be laid. However, if they remember the bill, and have the opportunity to pay it, but choose not to, then they are a criminal as they have demonstrated ‘mens rea’ or ‘a guilty mind’.

Honest people fix honest mistakes, while criminals perpetuate and expand upon their crimes.

Six-hundred-and-fifty-plus days ago, David Flude, the Principal Broker at Verico the Mortgage Station, was informed by one of his clients that one of his brokers had broken the law by charging a grossly illegal level of interest and manufactured fees on a short-term loan. He also learned that the loan was only necessary because another broker, Lisa Purchase, had chosen, without explanation, to elongate the process of arranging a mortgage from a promised three weeks to more than nine.

David Flude is also aware that as a result of their actions, the brokers at Verico the Mortgage Station caused the virtual demise of a not-for-profit, social enterprise, community service that has existed since 2014, which donates media services to local charities, not-for-profits, and benevolent community groups. The result has been a significant loss of support for those in need within our community, who can no longer request assistance to create educational or fundraising videos to spur action from the community in support of our most vulnerable people.

Instead of 'manning up', David Flude ignored the ‘regulatory requirements’ of his license which binds him to ethical conduct as a broker in Ontario.

The crime of usury, or loan sharking, is not open to interpretation, which is why we question what 'motivated' Detective Constable Jason Muto of the South Simcoe Police Service to falsify formulas and omit evidence, apparently to help the multi-million-dollar brokers at Verico the Mortgage Station to avoid criminal prosecution. If he had included the official documentation that was provided by a bank and from the brokers under investigation, and if he had not used incorrect formulas to establish his baseline, pursuant to his ethical obligations, Detective Constable Jason Muto would have been forced by the law he has sworn to uphold to charge Renee Dadswell with the crime of usury or loan sharking, and likely Lisa Purchase and David Flude as accessories.

That abuse of public trust is not resolved and the evidence associated with it will be a key component of our documentary that is being produced for broadcast television and streaming services.

Under Section 347 of the Criminal Code of Canada:

347 (1) Despite any other Act of Parliament, every one who enters into an agreement or arrangement to receive interest at a criminal rate, or receives a payment or partial payment of interest at a criminal rate, is

(a) guilty of an indictable offence and liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding five years; or (b) guilty of an offence punishable on summary conviction and liable to a fine of not more than $25,000 or to imprisonment for a term of not more than two years less a day, or to both.

Under section 2: criminal rate means an effective annual rate of interest calculated in accordance with generally accepted actuarial practices and principles that exceeds sixty per cent on the credit advanced under an agreement or arrangement; (taux criminel)

The law is not open to interpretation, other than by a duly-empowered court of law, as the laws of our country are supposed to be applicable to all, regardless of wealth or ability to 'motivate' leverage.

Renee Dadswell charged our Producer a total of $499.75 in interest and fees on a loan of $2,000.00 that was outstanding for only 46 days. When calculated accurately, including the legal interest charged and the fees applied, the lending rate exceeds one-hundred-and-ninety-eight per cent. As noted above, the legal limit is sixty per cent, and the punishment for charging more than that is incarceration in prison for as long as five years.

On June 9, 2022, David Flude responded to the facts as noted above by refusing to meet, despite his assurance that doing so was a ‘regulatory requirement’ of his license as a broker, and he noted as follows:

“3) This short term loan provided to assist you in making your previous mortgage payment obligation, in my opinion was a generous and helpful deal.”

In this email, David Flude had to know he was lying, or he should have known. While ignorance might be a viable excuse for somebody who is not trained in interest rates or the pertaining laws, David Flude is a qualified expert in mortgages and the Principal Broker of a mortgage brokerage, which means he has to understand the laws regarding the legal rates of interest, and what qualifies as usury, or loan sharking.

Saying otherwise is like saying a firefighter does not need to know how to use a hose.

The law is also easy to find online, and a simple Google search would have qualified the claims of our Producer. But of course, that is why David Flude has hidden for almost two years from having to explain his crime, as has also been true of his brokers and allies at Verico Financial Group Inc. and HomeEquity Bank. During a recent conversation between our Producer and a professional banker with one of Canada’s Big Five banks, the lending professional could not believe that David Flude was trying to push such a narrative, going so far as to ask if the Principal Broker at Verico the Mortgage Station showed signs of mentally illness, and how did David Flude think his broker, Renee Dadswell, was just going to walk away with money she had stolen from a client through usury, or loan sharking?

People are not stupid, neither laymen nor lending professionals, which is what we are hoping will be reflected in any investigation by the Financial Services Regulatory Authority of Ontario (FSRA).

David Flude has had 650+ days to stand up and refute our allegations, as we have offered him, Renee Dadswell, and Lisa Purchase, the brokers at Verico the Mortgage Station, as well as their allies W. Mark Squire, President and Chief Operating Officer, Verico Financial Group Inc. and Yvonne Ziomecki-Fisher, Executive Vice President Marketing and Sales of HomeEquity Bank, multiple opportunities to be interviewed on camera, at which point they could counter our claims and present their own evidence, if they have any, or to meet under terms of a without prejudice meeting.

Rather than defend their 'good' names, they have all chosen to hide rather than disprove our allegations, apparently still holding onto the vain hope that we will just go away.

It is pretty obvious to the 97% of people who support our telling of this story that the brokers at Verico the Mortgage Station and their allies at Verico Financial Group Inc. and HomeEquity Bank had just one plan. They would ignore and hide from us while drawing on those in official positions who they could ‘motivate’ to help them until we got frustrated and just went away. Instead, we have continued to tell this story to a growing audience and are now planning with local activists to protest outside the offices of all three corporations, through rallies that will draw mainstream media and public attention.

It would also appear that those who we are exposing for cheating seniors have lost the support of their ‘motivated’ minions.

Almost two years ago, the detectives and top brass of the South Simcoe Police Service were happy to be ‘motivated’ to ignore our Producer's fully supported complaint of usury, or loan sharking, as made against the brokers at Verico the Mortgage Station. Then, a few months later, after we took our story to the Mayor and Council of Innisfil, the South Simcoe Police Service proved willing to go so far as to falsify calculations and omit key financial evidence as a way to help the multi-million-dollar loan sharks evade prosecution. Our allegations of these abuses of public trust have never been contested.

Of course, they never expected that our Producer's response would be to expose the South Simcoe Police Service for apparent abuse of public trust, as he was supposed to be too intimidated by police to tell the truth.

The plan, evidently, was to show our Producer that the brokers at Verico the Mortgage Station and their multi-billion-dollar allies have sufficient local power and influence to get away with this indictable offence and that the truth should just be buried as there was nothing we could do. It seems there was no contingency plan for the South Simcoe Police Service being exposed for what 97% of our followers say was an obvious abuse of public trust.

Apparently, they missed how our small, not-for-profit social enterprise was not afraid to publicly allege crimes had been committed by a multi-million-dollar corporation that is backed up by a multi-billion-dollar bank.

Despite that completely one-sided imbalance of power, not one of those multi-million-dollar and multi-billion-dollar corporations, nor the South Simcoe Police Service, nor Simcoe County Council has contested any of our allegations in any way or in any forum. We have received no letters from lawyers advising us of pending litigation for defamation, we have not been served with any kind of clandestinely attained interlocutory relief against our reporting, and no officers of the South Simcoe Police Service have come to our door claiming criminal violations for speaking the truth about the transparent abuses of public trust.

It does not require an advanced degree in law or civics to understand why.

The only actions taken were a false and easily disproved anonymous claim of copyright violations made to Facebook by an unidentified agent for HomeEquity Bank, and the anonymous service of an equally unsigned 'Notice of Libel' which was also so easily debunked that the multi-million-dollar brokers and their multi-million and multi-billion-dollar allies have never mustered the courage to file it with any court. Neither of these actions shows the strength of multi-million or multi-billion-dollar corporations.

In truth, what they have demonstrated is consistent with those who suffer from 'mens rea', or a guilty mind.