6 Ontario residents charged for cottage rental scam

The RCMP have charged eight people, including six Ontario residents, with fraud after a string of bogus cottage rentals that defrauded at least 75 people out of $68,000.

The twelve-month long investigation began in October 2015 after an earlier inquiry into fraudulent cottage rentals in 2014.

Police said members of the group posted online advertisements for property rentals in popular vacation areas.

The accused members sent emails and text messages to the victims and once an agreement was reached the victims sent payments through email money transfer. The accused did not own or have any right to offer any of the advertised properties for rent.

Many of the victims would only discover the fraud when they arrived at the location with carloads of friends and family.

Jonathan Clarke, 25, of Brampton, Ont., Jacquie Swalm, 27, of Fort Erie, Ont., and Windsor, Ont. residents Matthew Jonsson, 26, Tamiya Kanyenda, 21, and Halle Beattie, 21, have been charged with fraud over $5000. Mark Cipparone, 34, of St. Catharines, Ont. has been charged with fraud under $5000. Henry Martins, 21, of Calgary, AB and Linda Wilson, 53, of White Rock, BC have also been charged with fraud over $5000.

All are scheduled to appear in early December 2016 at the London Courthouse, 80 Dundas Street, London, Ontario.