Latest news with #WendyNichols
CTV News
08-07-2025
- CTV News
‘What right does he have to do what he did?' Absentee landlord and alleged ringleader of grandparent scam arrested in Quebec
'Lighting. And then there was light. And we also have water.' 'No problem,' said Wendy Nichols. The senior citizen has learned to relish the small things. She and dozens of other tenants at 14 Holland Street in St. Thomas were caught in the crossfire of an international manhunt for their former landlord. 'I'm very happy about him being arrested, because what right does he have to do what he did?' she asked. The 'he' she's talking about is Gareth West, the former landlord of her building. 070825 Gareth West's website: The self-described real estate builder and investment coach also happens to be the alleged ringleader of a sophisticated grandparent scam in the United States. West was arrested last Friday in Quebec. The 38 year old from Burlington, Ontario was among 25 Canadians charged by U.S. authorities for allegedly defrauding seniors in Vermont and 40 other states. West had been on the run since March, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office in Vermont. 'And the lies,' exclaimed Nichols. 'He came to my door, lied to my face, he told me he was a Christian man. Tried to buy me out up there,' she said. 070825 Wendy Nichols, tenant of 14 Holland Street, St. Thomas. (Bryan Bicknell/CTV News London) For tenants of the Holland Street three-storey walk-up, the trouble began when garbage started piling up outside the building this past spring. Then, for a brief period in June, the hydro and water were shut off due to unpaid bills, before the city intervened and had the utilities restored. 'That was very stressful,' said tenant Kim Doxtator, who uses a breathing machine. 'The hydro got shut off, the water got shut off. Even though that was only a few hours, for a lot of our tenants, that was a long time,' she said. Meanwhile, the experiences of tenants at a London apartment are all too similar to those of the tenants at 14 Holland Street in St. Thomas. 'He just came here one day and tried to con everybody by handing them $20,000 to move out,' said senior citizen Dennis Johnston, who lives at 308 Egerton Street in London. Tenants at this building also had Gareth West as their landlord, until he disappeared earlier this year. 070825 308 Egerton Street, London. (Bryan Bicknell/CTV News London) 'We found out about Gareth's alleged grandparent scam back in about June this year, when our hot-water heater gave out and left us without hot water for about a week and a half,' said tenant Andrew Foster, who lives at 308 Egerton with his partner and children. West's properties in London and St. Thomas have since been taken over by Mortgage company, Richmond Advisory Services. In the meantime, he is being held at a detention centre in Quebec pending a request for extradition to the U.S. by the Department of Homeland Security.
CTV News
10-06-2025
- CTV News
St. Thomas apartment dwellers with no utilities, landlord wanted in U.S. for grandparent scam
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: 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.'
