St. Thomas apartment dwellers with no utilities, landlord wanted in U.S. for grandparent scam

CTV News

2 days ago

Dozens of tenants at a St. Thomas apartment building are without hydro and water, apparently caught in the middle of an international manhunt for their landlord – an alleged conman indicted in the United States.
'I'm turning on the light, which does not work, and now I'm turning it off. And the water, right here, there we go, nothing,' said senior citizen Wendy Nichols. The 70-year-old retiree lives at 14 Holland St., a three-storey walk-up.
She said the hydro and water were turned off Tuesday morning due to unpaid bills by the landlord, Gareth West. Now begins the painstaking process of attempting to jump the legal hurdles to get the utilities back on.
'And this is the notice telling us what to do when the water and the power go out. And so, I made the phone call, and now I have to call the tenant board also, and residential housing enforcement unit,' explained Nichols.
14 Holland St., St. Thomas
Tenant Wendy Nichols checks her kitchen faucet on June 10, 2025. (Bryan Bicknell/CTV News London)
The building is said to have 18 units, with 12 occupied. In all, some 30 to 40 tenants have been left high and dry and in the dark.
For tenant Kim Doxtator, 62, it's a matter health. She suffers from sleep apnea and uses a machine to help her breathe during the night.
'Like me, I'm on a breathing machine. This is down to my health issues. My machine is on electricity, and I'm dependent for it. So yeah, it is taking a toll on everybody in different manners,' Doxtator exclaimed.
And on top of everything else, tenants say the garbage has been piling up since before Easter.
14 Holland St., St. Thomas
A notice posted in door of 14 Holland St. on June 10, 2025. (Bryan Bicknell/CTV News London)
'It's a private contract,' explained tenant Audrey Knight. 'The owner, the landlord, should have been paying it. He hasn't been. The city can't take the bin because it's not their property.'
So, who is Gareth West?
His website says he's the founder of West Developments. A self-described real estate builder offering himself up for investment coaching.
CTV News tried to reach him, but the phone number is no longer in service, and emails went unanswered.
In the meantime, the U.S. Attorney's office in Vermont says the 38-year-old is one of 25 Canadian nationals indicted in a grandparent scam that defrauded elderly people in more than 40 states. According to a March 4 news release from the U.S. Attorney's office, Gareth West remains at large.
14 Holland St., St. Thomas
(Source: WestDevelopments.ca)
Wendy Nichols said she is not surprised in the least, 'I really didn't like the guy from the first day I met him. Like you could tell, he thought he was 'the man.''
The tenants have been back and forth with the city, which says it's working on getting the utilities back on. But it's going to be at least a couple days before services are restored.
'Oh, there's a drip,' said Nichols, as she checked her kitchen faucet. 'There's probably a bit of water in the line. And I think I'll save it 'cause I might have to rinse a dish.'