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A growing number of investors in Ontario say they’ve lost hundreds of thousands of dollars after investing money with a former executive at a Toronto-based property management company who is now under police investigation.
London, Ont., business owner Ammar Abdelhadi says he and his business partner are out more than $600,000 after they put money in construction renovation contracts with Majde Fanous, who, at the time, was a vice president of operations at Signet Group.
Abdelhadi alleges Fanous used his position at the company and documents tied to construction projects to convince him and others to invest their money, promising they would receive both their initial investment and profits in return.
“So far, we haven’t got any of the principal or the profit that we were promised back. And then as he accumulated all the money, he just disappeared,” Abdelhadi said.
He said he has connected with 20 other victims so far and believes there could be others, and believes the group’s collective loss amounts to $3 million. CBC News has not independently verified that estimate.
CBC News has attempted to contact Fanous multiple times through several emails, phone calls and text messages, but has not been able to reach him.
Company says it was unaware of allegations
A Signet Group spokesperson declined an interview request but said in a statement that Fanous is no longer employed with the company and that during his employment, “the company was not aware of, nor connected in any way to, the claims he is alleged to have been making.”
“The allegations against Majde Fanous are serious and deeply troubling and we are urging anyone with information on this matter to reach out to investigators,” said Danny Roth.
Roth did not respond to follow-up questions about how long Fanous was employed there. According to a previous LinkedIn post from the company’s chief executive officer, Fanous joined Signet Group in 2022 and was promoted to vice-president of operations last year.
London police said investigators are aware of the allegations but could not provide additional information because of the ongoing investigation.
Toronto police also confirmed they are aware of one complaint involving Fanous, but said they could not comment further on investigative steps and referred questions to London police.
“My life is completely destroyed, and I don’t know what to do.”- Nader Alsharif, London, Ont., resident who said he has lost $165,000 to Fanous.
Abdelhadi said he met Fanous several years ago when Fanous became a client at his auto body shop. In September, Abdelhadi said Fanous showed him what appeared to be purchase orders connected to Signet projects and described investment opportunities tied to renovation contracts.
“He was telling us that he was the one who could get the contracts, get them done and then make the money for us. He showed me orders, emails and everything seemed legit,” he said.
CBC News reviewed contracts between Fanous and investors that state Fanous was responsible for repaying the invested funds and that investors could withdraw their money at any time.
Abdelhadi said he initially received small payments from Fanous until March, when payments stopped, and communication became sporadic.
Since then, he said, Fanous has stopped responding to him and other investors.
Abdelhadi said he used lines of credit to make the investment, and is now struggling to manage mounting expenses.
“We were supposed to get that money by the end of the month but we don’t know what we’re going to do next,” he said. “I’ve got employees to pay and my mortgage and now we’re out a huge amount.”
Investors describe financial and emotional toll
Abdelhadi said he later learned Fanous was involved in legal proceedings in Kuwait and Jordan. CBC News reviewed court documents from both countries related to fraud-related allegations involving Fanous.
Others who spoke to CBC News described the financial losses as devastating and said they are hoping police investigations will provide answers.
London resident Nader Alsharif said he believes he lost $165,000 through investments tied to Fanous and now expects he may have to file for bankruptcy.
“My life is completely destroyed and I don’t know what to do and how I will survive,” he said. “My wife is pregnant, and she’s now hospitalized [due to stress] … Bankruptcy in Canada means we won’t be able to get loans and maybe we will also lose our home and our business.”
I feel really bad for everyone because these are huge amounts.- Lena Karyouti, Realtor
Realtor Lena Karyouti said Fanous contacted her a few years ago, trying to convince her to invest in his business, but she immediately felt something was off and chose not to.
Months later, she said, she found out her brother had invested roughly $50,000.
“It is a big impact because he had that money saved aside for his son, who is going to university next year, so he thought that this money can be used towards his son’s education,” Karyouti said.
“I feel really bad for everyone because these are huge amounts.”
The investors CBC News spoke with said they are now awaiting the outcome of police investigations and hope to recover at least some of the money they say they lost.