Man wanted in loan scam
Posted Jun 14, 2010 1:47 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
Calgary Police are trying to track down a man wanted on charges of collecting a criminal interest rate on a loan to an elderly city couple.
The husband and wife took out what they thought was a reverse mortgage on their home when a man contacted them by phone in 2006.
Instead, they were told their home was being foreclosed on and the man pushed them to take out more loans.
An investigation by Service Alberta and a local actuary figured out they were being charged more than 65 per cent a year in interest.
It’s illegal to collect any more than 60 per cent.
38 year old Richard William Hoffman is charged under the Fair Trading Act of Alberta with unfair practices and under the Criminal Code with demanding a criminal interest rate.
