Description

This complaint is in regards to a pattern of behaviour where Anthony Forgione, as an agent of Apex Property Management, will promise monetary compensation to lawful tenants of a property and then not provide it, which results in situations as severe as absolute homelessness. During this time, Anthony claimed to have a CPM designation. Upon my research into the Real Estate Institute of Canada (REIC; the governing body of certifications such as CPM), it was confirmed that Forgione never has had, and does not currently have, a valid CPM designation. Both of the below exhibits occurred while Forgione claimed to have a CPM designation, which aided in him scamming innocent people into leaving their homes under false pretenses, as they have trusted the word of a "CPM;" a designation which is supposed to indicate ethical practices. I have since filed a ‘Code of Professional Standards Complaint Form’ with REIC in hopes to disrupt Forgione and Apex’s pattern of unethical and disturbing behaviour. At its core, he scams people out of their homes by promising them compensation and then does not provide it. The first example includes person A. who was renting a unit. My relation to person A. is they are my friend and have given me consent to provide this complaint. Within the first month, his gas was turned off, the person with whom A. signed the lease went missing, and he was informed by Anthony Forgione that he was being evicted. A. was told that the owner of the house went bankrupt and the house was being seized. A notice from Apex was placed on the front door and the two apartment tenants were being evicted. The residents from Unit #2 moved out and were compensated (this is confirmed as Forgione had A. send photos of the vacated properties and provide cheques). He moved out at the end of June 2023 and was promised $7,200 compensation in a phone call which was recorded. He has never received this money despite trying to contact Forgione and Peter Allen at Apex. In addition to this eviction not following LTB standards, this compensation was agreed to in good faith as a CPM designation is supposed to provide an assurance of ethical behaviour, which is clearly absent. The second example includes person B. who was living in a home once owned by the same person as the previous example. My relation to person B. is they are a client of mine and have given me consent to provide this complaint.. The home was condemned, and hadn’t had running water in years. Despite this, B. has been paying rent directly to the previous owner, as there is a housing crisis and this was their home. On October 13, 2023, myself and my coworker received a call from B. that there was a man trying to intimidate him to leave his home while threatening to physically fight him, and calling him derogatory names. Upon our arrival at B.’s home., Forgione introduced himself as "Tony" and said he was "the mortgage." B. said that Forgione offered him $500 cash on the spot to vacate the property, and he refused. Forgione verified the offer of cash. Myself and my coworker told Forgione that B. had a right to occupy the house until the end of October as he paid rent for the month. We asked Forgione to clarify if he had been calling B. to physically fight, to which Forgione said yes and said he "fights people daily." Forgione provided his phone number, but gave no other formal identification. Later that day, the Ottawa Police Service (OPS) attended and attempted to remove B. Myself and my coworker arrived and diffused the situation, allowing B. to remain in their home. It was later confirmed by OPS that this call was made by Forgione. On October 20, 2023, B. approached me and said that he would be interested in vacating the property before October 31, 2023 in exchange for $1000 compensation, as this money would allow for B. to have a place to stay and get their affairs in order. I called Forgione who spoke with B., at which time they agreed that B. would vacate the property by Tuesday October 24 in exchange for $1000 cash. I also verified this information on the phone with Forgione. On October 23, I tried to call Forgione to re-confirm, but there was no answer. On October 24, myself and my coworker arrived to find that OPS had removed B. from his property. B. did not want to leave the property without the $1000 that was promised from Forgione as that money was going to ensure that he was not homeless for at least the rest of the month. I called Forgione using my phone and he did not pick up; I called using a different phone and he answered and said he was on his way, currently in Kingston, but also in a meeting, and hung up. I later confirmed with OPS that the call was made by Forgione, who reported there were squatters and requested the property be boarded up. Without the agreed upon financial compensation, B. was now in absolute homelessness and Forgione and Apex were unreachable.On October 25, I tried to contact Forgione to no avail. I contacted Apex head office and requested that they tell Forgione to contact me as it was urgent. Head office noted that they would pass on the message and call back. Within the half hour, the head office called back and said that Forgione said the agreement was “off.” I asked for more information or another contact, but nothing was provided. In the following days, I continued to try to call Forgione and Apex as B. was homeless without the agreed to compensation. I was hung up on, and could not reach anyone to provide any information. Forgione has since been unreachable by telephone or text. I have tried to also contact the Apex Property Management office who have not provided me with any other contact information and have hung up on me multiple times. As you can see, the two above examples show a pattern of behaviour that I believe are just the tip of the iceberg. I believe many of the disturbing practices and crimes of Forgione have been able to be committed without recourse and accountability directly because of the perceived trust that comes with being associated with a property management company such as Apex, and a CPM designation. Alongside Forgione’s abhorrent business practices, I question Apex Property Management as there is clearly no accountability for the actions of their employees and their standards and practices in general. If this is how they treat their clients–quite literally making them homeless without recourse, accountability, or care–I am disgusted that they are able to operate freely. Further, I am concerned for consumers everywhere who may have to deal with Forgione or Apex in the future as they clearly have a dangerous pattern of behavior.