Jawad Rathore and Vincenzo Petrozza convicted and sentenced in Fortress syndicated mortgage investment fraud

TORONTO, Feb. 5, 2026 /CNW/ - The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) – Federal Policing, Central Region (Ontario) is announcing the conviction and sentence of Jawad Rathore and Vincenzo Petrozza, the "operating minds" of Fortress Real Developments Inc. This was a complex, multi–year investigation conducted by the RCMP's Toronto Integrated Market Enforcement Team (IMET).

Jawad Rathore (49), of Richmond Hill and Vincenzo Petrozza (50), of Markham were each convicted of one count of Fraud over $5,000, pursuant to the Criminal Code.

Fortress, located in Richmond Hill, Ontario, was in the business of raising funds for construction projects through the investment vehicle of syndicated mortgages. In the "Reasons for Judgment", Justice Moore, of the Ontario Court of Justice, found that Rathore and Petrozza in some of the projects "deceived investors with respect to the actual security they were being given in the [syndicated mortgage loans], and that the non-disclosure of the actual "as is" value that was known to Fortress amounted to non-disclosure of material facts." Justice Moore also found, "beyond a reasonable doubt that they both intentionally misled investors about the value of their secured interest in order to induce them into investing."

On February 2, 2026, Justice Moore sentenced each of Rathore and Petrozza to a 5-year term of imprisonment in the penitentiary. A DNA order was also made and they were each ordered to pay $12.2 million in restitution, with a corresponding 5-year period of incarceration in default of payment. Rathore and Petrozza were each given 10 years to pay the restitution order.

Justice Moore noted that "no sentence that I impose is going to get the investors their money back or undo the significant financial and psychological harms caused." Justice Moore did "not have any evidence of true remorse".

During the sentencing, the Justice found that the fraud, that was ongoing for "almost 4.5 years" "involved a high degree of planning and complexity" of the almost 800 investors who were defrauded. The Justice found that "the fraud targeted "mom and pop" investors, upon whom the impact of the losses was much greater and in some cases were financially catastrophic. Most victims suffered some degree of psychological harm, and some suffered extremely serious deteriorations of their mental health which in turn also impacted on their physical health".

"The RCMP is committed to protecting Canadians from large–scale financial crime," said Superintendent Mia Poscente, Officer in Charge of Cyber & Financial Investigation Teams for Central Region (Ontario). "This particular case is a significant outcome for the many investors of Fortress. This represents years of meticulous investigative work and close collaboration among multiple agencies to hold accountable the individuals who have abused the trust of investors."

Rathore and Petrozza have filed an appeal against conviction with the Ontario Court of Appeal.

RCMP IMET extends its appreciation to its many partners, including the Financial Services Regulatory Authority of Ontario (FSRA), the Appraisal Institute of Canada (AIC) and the Forensic Accounting Management Group (FAMG). RCMP IMET would also like to recognize the Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada (FINTRAC), which provided actionable financial intelligence.

The RCMP's Toronto Integrated Market Enforcement Team is a specialized unit that is committed to protect the integrity of Canada's Capital Markets by detecting, investigating and deterring capital market investment fraud. 

The RCMP encourages Canadians to conduct thorough due diligence prior to investing. If you have any information about fraudulent investment schemes, money laundering or any other criminality, you can contact your local police, the Ontario RCMP at 1-800-387-0020, or report anonymously through Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 (TIPS), at any time.

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SOURCE Royal Canadian Mounted Police - Central Region

Contact Information: RCMP Federal Policing - Central Region (Ontario), Communications & Media Relations, Email: [email protected]