Despicable Son Gets 10 Years – Con Man Defrauds Mother
Written on February 7, 2012 – 5:00 am | by Jasmine Sweatman
“Mr. [Roman] Kaziuk would rip off the wings of all the angels in Heaven and sell them to the devil for his own gain if he could”: so held Ontario Justice Lesley Baldwin last month when she imposed a 10 year prison sentence on Mr. Kaziuk for frauds he committed against his mother, Feliksa Kaziuk, 88, of Oakville.
At the time that Mrs. Kaziuk’s husband died in 1999, she owned two mortgage free condos in Oakville, a mortgage free house in Miami, a car and over $1 million in the bank. By the time her son was finished 10 years later she had nothing. It was all gone.
Mrs. Kaziuk had appointed her son attorney for property which he used to put unauthorized mortgages on her properties for his own use. He agreed at his sentencing hearing that he had fraudulently used the power of attorney to put $98,000.00 and $65,000.00 mortgages on his mother’s property. As a result of these fraudulent mortgages, Mrs. Kaziuk was evicted from her Oakville condo to live in a homeless shelter.
Fraud was a part of Mr. Kaziuk’s life – telling a former lawyer that his mother had died and that he needed money for her burial, he borrowed $20,000 which he never returned. Although no charges were laid on this account, this and a criminal record of 69 convictions for crimes including circulating forged documents, fraud over $5,000.00, theft over $5,000.00, possession of forgery equipment, larceny, and fraudulent use of credit card data, were all factors considered in imposing a 10 year sentence.
As far as we are aware this is the first significant conviction under the Criminal Code of an attorney for property.
Lesson Learned: Be careful whom you appoint as your substitute decision maker – family or not. Be wary and vigilant – trust and know the individual you appoint.
Until next time,
Jasmine Sweatman/Kathleen Jukes
Tags: breach of trust, fraud, Jasmine Sweatman, Power of Attorney for Property, Sweatman Law Firm
