Monday, December 8, 2014

UH-OH. CONVICTED FRAUDSTER NOW ON CRYSTAL BEACH BIA BOARD. WHAT COULD POSSIBLY GO WRONG?

Plenty if Gary Fraser's past is any indication. Below are newspaper articles regarding Fraser's history of fraud for which he served time in jail.



  1. Scam Artist Bilked Family, Friends Out of  $2 Million.
  2. 30 Month Sentence For Fraud Artist Who Scammed His Pastor.
  3. Warning/Complaint About Gary Fraser.
  4. Fraser cons in the Muskokas
  5. His Port Colborne Cons
  6. 3 Years Jail Sentence. Officers warn he will con again once he is out.
Of course, Gary Fraser claims that he has changed and that he has learned his lesson. Odd though, he's gone into the same line of work that he was in when caught bilking people of millions of dollars: selling dreams through investment opportunities.

He recently set his sights on Crystal Beach and is the go-to guy for a series of investments in Crystal Beach. Somehow he and one of his followers, Arlene White, were appointed to the Crystal Beach BIA. So far, there is only a post office box in Crystal Beach listed as the business address of Black Bear Homes, Ltd. (Not to be confused {cough-cough}with Black Bear Developments.)  President of Black Bear Homes is listed as Audrey VandenBerg at that P.O. Box; she's reported to be Fraser's girlfriend. (Correction: Gary Fraser identifies himself as the president of Black Bear Homes, Ltd.) 

It doesn't take long to find those buildings associated with Fraser and the investors behind him. The stripped former tourist home at Queen's Circle that is listed for close to $1 million, once completely refurbished. The house next door was torn down to its footings. Next, a remodeled cottage on Cherrywood that reportedly "sold" for over $400,000 that is worth less than half that amount. We're still waiting to see who "bought" that place; it closes on the 15th of December. Real Estate company is allegedly an in-house company. Fraser's investment company also bought the former Pines restaurant and refurbishment is underway. Supposed to have re-opened last month. Still waiting for that.

The crown jewels to this operation are the houses being built on Schooley Road near Smalls Road and Glen Spring. Priced from $487,000 for a 1477 sq.ft. house without a garage to $598,900 for a 1954 sq.ft house without a garage.  All are on small lots and do not look well-made at this stage. Inflated prices are not making neighbours feel confident for the future. Will probably end up like the places on Cambridge that never sold and are now rented out. Only an idiot would pay that much for such places, in my opinion.

Again, we're not against smart development in Crystal Beach, but these overpriced houses will do nothing to draw people to the area, especially when the spokesman for the company is a convicted fraudster. I was tipped off to Gary Fraser and his past history by a local real estate agent.

So, the village of Crystal Beach may have escaped the plans of a high rise developer only to fall into the clutches of a convicted felon. We worry about the few who may have invested in this man's latest scheme, believing that he is a changed man.  If he was "so changed" he would have gone into a completely different line of work, not fall back right into the investment world.

Please beware of this man's history before you get involved, invest, or buy into his dreams. Several years ago, a similar scam took place in Crystal Beach. Silent investors lost a lot of money but no charges were ever filed.  There are still a few remnants of these people remaining in town. Another reason that Crystal Beach suffered after the amusement park closed was the influx of these vultures, who took advantage of the low prices and desperation. These "investors" could pay cash (Crystal Beach was red-lined so no mortgages) and rent them out to the poor and those on Social Services. Almost destroyed the Beach. 

Let's not repeat that sad history.

UPDATE: The house on Cherrywood was "sold" then the deal fell through and another deal was supposed to have gone through, but there is now a generic "For Sale" sign on the property.  Also, the "mortgage company" used in the past by Fraser has been busted by the SEC but is still operating. Company names change frequently and there is no actual physical address for the various companies that are undertaking the developments. 

Like others before me, I am requesting someone to send me a picture of Gary Fraser so that it can be posted here. In an aside, when one person met Gary Fraser, she counted her fingers after shaking his hand. It is suggested that others take that as a warning.

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