Previously bankrupt Oak Ridges councillor gets back $1M-plus home for $0, weeks before 2014 election

Beros later sold the house for about $1.3 million after buying a property in Exeter, a community more than 200 kilometres away

Yorkregion.com
August 28, 2020
Shelia Wang

It didn’t take long before Greg Beros went from bankruptcy to buying multiple properties -- including a house more than two hours from Richmond Hill, where he sits on council, public documents showed.

A resident recently raised questions about the finances of the Oak Ridges councillor and said he's been “sitting pretty” over the past couple of years after a slew of money trouble that included the loss of his home on Hughes Street in 2011, followed by a personal bankruptcy.

“It seems unlikely that you would sell your house three months before declaring bankruptcy and then get it back three years later for zero dollars,” a Richmond Hill resident, who spoke on condition of anonymity, wrote to The Liberal on July 27.

Records that were recently obtained by The Liberal reveal that Beros claimed his house back for no declared fees on Oct. 10, 2014, three years after it was sold to his former accountant, John MacDonald.

MacDonald didn't respond to request for comment.

That was 17 days before the 2014 municipal election in Richmond Hill, at which time Beros was re-elected as Ward 1 councillor.

On Aug. 15, 2017, Beros sold the house for about $1.3 million, one month after buying a property in Exeter, a community north of London.

About seven months later, he purchased a condo unit in the old village core of Richmond Hill, according to a record from Land Registry.

Beros wrote in an email on Aug. 14 that he lives in the condo and has lived in Richmond Hill continuously for the past 46 years, in response to rumours swirling around in the community that said the councillor doesn’t live in the city.

However, his quick recovery from a personal bankruptcy drew questions from the anonymous source, who cast doubt about the transfers of his previous house and the timing of the bankruptcy, citing Land Transfer documents.

Records show a company called Susan MacDonald Investments Inc. purchased some of the mortgages against Beros’ home and sold the house to MacDonald by power of sale on Nov. 3, 2011.

A power of sale is a way for a lender to recoup the funds if the borrower defaults on the mortgage.

Beros declared bankruptcy on Feb. 13, 2012, with more than $900,000 in liabilities and total assets of $25,000, according to Bankruptcy and Insolvency documents.

His personal bankruptcy was reported to have stemmed from financial losses incurred by his father’s automotive garage, known as Beros OK Tire & Auto, of which Beros was a partner.

As a result, the family had to sell the business that Beros’ father started decades ago.

While Beros was initially expected to stay in bankruptcy for 21 months because of his surplus income, records show he was discharged from bankruptcy on Nov. 14, 2012 -- nine months after declaring it.

It was less than two years later when the councillor was transferred back his house on Hughes Street for no declared payment.

The transfer registered as YR2199944 shows the house was transferred from MacDonald to Beros on Oct. 10, 2014 for $0.

“I find it very strange that the person who bought Councillor Beros’ house before the bankruptcy later transferred it back to him for no declared payment after the bankruptcy,” said Jason Cherniak, a Richmond Hill lawyer who focuses on real estate.

Beros claimed MacDonald as the trustee who held his house in trust for him at that time. It is unclear whether he held it in trust during the bankruptcy.

“It is important to remember that bankruptcy is meant to protect people who cannot pay their bills. Nobody is allowed to conceal assets while using the bankruptcy process to wipe away debts,” the lawyer wrote in an email after reviewing the land transfer records.

“There is not enough public information available for me to say whether this was done legally. I hope Councillor Beros is able to explain what he did,” Cherniak wrote in an email.

Beros didn’t respond to the questions pertaining to the transfers of his old house between him and MacDonald.

MacDonald is the founder of JMA Group, an Oakville-based accounting and management consulting firm, which merged with MNP LLP, one of Canada’s largest national accounting and business consulting firms in 2017, according to a release.

The national firm has a strong presence across the GTA, supporting key industries, including real estate and construction, the release says.

Serving his fourth term in Richmond Hill, Beros has found himself in hot water financially on many occasions over the years.

Last summer, a joint compliance audit committee found Beros in multiple contraventions of the Municipal Elections Act in reporting his 2018 election campaign finances, but decided not to commence legal actions as the committee believed the irregularities were “the result of inadvertence” on the part of Beros.

In 2015, an external investigation found the councillor “more likely than not” engaged in conduct amounting to sexual harassment and abusive conduct. He was ordered to pay Richmond Hill $15,000 for legal fees when he took the town to court over the way the case was handled two years later.