More tenants claim Canadian scammed them
By Xu Chi |
January 7, 2012, Saturday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
MORE expats have come forward to say they were left homeless by a Canadian landlord who has gone missing, and urged police to find him.
Since Shanghai Daily reported the case yesterday, another seven tenants have said they were duped by Ryan Fedoruk - making a total of 60, mostly students.
"Ryan's business relied mainly on foreign students and he abused people's trust to cheat money out of them," claimed Manuel Rojas Soto, a 24-year-old student from Mexico.
But tenants who reported Fedoruk to police were told there is not enough evidence prove fraud took place.
Fedoruk, a 40-year-old former English teacher, disappeared from Shanghai after allegedly taking 340,000 yuan (US$53,847) from tenants.
It is claimed Fedoruk rented 30 apartments from landlords and then sublet the rooms to tenants last year.
He allegedly kept deposits and rent collected from tenants, instead of passing the cash on to landlords. Tenants were then evicted for not paying their rent.
Former tenants, many exchange students with no income, told Shanghai Daily they are homeless and facing financial crisis.
"Now I'm in a cheap hotel while trying to find somewhere else for rent, and my money is running low," said Albert Tsou, a 21-year-old student and former room mate of Mexican student Soto.
"On Wednesday, the apartment owners asked us all to pack and leave immediately," said Soto,
He said tenants paid Fedoruk rent for January and February.
Soto said he saved for two years before coming to China and that Fedoruk took 11,000 yuan from him. This was for a deposit, rent and even a loan to cover medical expenses the Canadian said he owed following a car accident, said Soto.
Dina Rabatova, a 27-year-old Russian, told Shanghai Daily that she is staying with friends since she and four others were evicted.
"It happened so suddenly and I was shocked," said Rabatova.
Rabatova said Fedoruk was "a funny guy" and appeared "generally good."
Many tenants said they trusted Fedoruk and signed his informal, sometimes handwritten, contracts because he was, like them, a foreigner in a new city.
"He used to say, 'when everything's out of control, I will go back to Canada,'" said Soto. "I can't believe that it is no longer a joke."
Other tenants are being urged to come forward by lawyer Eva Gao, with a view to filing a group lawsuit against Fedoruk.
Tenants can e-mail Shanghai Daily with their experiences at metro@shanghaidaily.com.
Since Shanghai Daily reported the case yesterday, another seven tenants have said they were duped by Ryan Fedoruk - making a total of 60, mostly students.
"Ryan's business relied mainly on foreign students and he abused people's trust to cheat money out of them," claimed Manuel Rojas Soto, a 24-year-old student from Mexico.
But tenants who reported Fedoruk to police were told there is not enough evidence prove fraud took place.
Fedoruk, a 40-year-old former English teacher, disappeared from Shanghai after allegedly taking 340,000 yuan (US$53,847) from tenants.
It is claimed Fedoruk rented 30 apartments from landlords and then sublet the rooms to tenants last year.
He allegedly kept deposits and rent collected from tenants, instead of passing the cash on to landlords. Tenants were then evicted for not paying their rent.
Former tenants, many exchange students with no income, told Shanghai Daily they are homeless and facing financial crisis.
"Now I'm in a cheap hotel while trying to find somewhere else for rent, and my money is running low," said Albert Tsou, a 21-year-old student and former room mate of Mexican student Soto.
"On Wednesday, the apartment owners asked us all to pack and leave immediately," said Soto,
He said tenants paid Fedoruk rent for January and February.
Soto said he saved for two years before coming to China and that Fedoruk took 11,000 yuan from him. This was for a deposit, rent and even a loan to cover medical expenses the Canadian said he owed following a car accident, said Soto.
Dina Rabatova, a 27-year-old Russian, told Shanghai Daily that she is staying with friends since she and four others were evicted.
"It happened so suddenly and I was shocked," said Rabatova.
Rabatova said Fedoruk was "a funny guy" and appeared "generally good."
Many tenants said they trusted Fedoruk and signed his informal, sometimes handwritten, contracts because he was, like them, a foreigner in a new city.
"He used to say, 'when everything's out of control, I will go back to Canada,'" said Soto. "I can't believe that it is no longer a joke."
Other tenants are being urged to come forward by lawyer Eva Gao, with a view to filing a group lawsuit against Fedoruk.
Tenants can e-mail Shanghai Daily with their experiences at metro@shanghaidaily.com.
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