Bre McAdam
Saskatoon StarPhoenix
Charges have been stayed against one of two former Saskatoon realtors accused in a $5 million mortgage fraud.
The StarPhoenix confirmed that last month, the Crown stayed two charges of fraud over $5,000 against Debashis Deb in connection with a complex scheme involving mortgage applications between November 2018 and March 2021.
His Saskatoon provincial court trial was previously scheduled to begin on Monday. The Crown filed a stay of proceedings on April 7.
“We were very pleased to receive confirmation that the Crown would not continue its prosecution against Mr. Deb,” defence lawyer Thomas Hynes wrote in an email.
A stay is entered when the Crown determines that a reasonable likelihood of conviction no longer exists. It allows a charge to be temporarily withdrawn for up to a year. If no new evidence comes forward within that time frame, the charge is permanently dropped.
According to a police news release, Debashis, 38, turned himself in to police in January 2023 after a two-year investigation into the alleged fraud.
Police said investigators found 17 successful and attempted mortgage applications after learning in March 2021 that falsified banking documents were submitted with several applications at a local bank.
Investigators then traced the documents back to mortgages submitted by two Saskatoon realtors, police said. They confirmed the fraudulent documents included falsified employment information, such as letters of employment, pay statements and T4s.
More fraudulent documents connected to mortgage applications at other financial institutions were found after police searched homes in the 200 block of Palliser Court (Kensington) and 3400 block of McClocklin Road (Hampton Village), as well as a business in the 1100 block of Eighth Street East.
An address on that block is connected to Royal LePage Varsity, which had previously listed Debashis as a realtor on its website. On LinkedIn, he is still listed as a Saskatoon realtor.
His co-accused, Kamanashis Deb, lists Royal LePage Varsity as his former workplace on his LinkedIn profile.
After charges were laid, the Saskatchewan Realtors Association confirmed both men were former realtors.
Kamanashis, 44, still faces 17 charges of fraud over $5,000. His judge-alone trial is scheduled for June 9 in Saskatoon Court of King’s Bench.
Court documents show that seven of the charges pertain to alleged fraud against Bank of Montreal, nine relate to alleged fraud against Affinity Credit Union and one alleges a fraud against CIBC.
