A condominium company in Harmony, Ont., is alleging its former property supervisor, Norbert (Bert) Berger, made it “the sufferer of an elaborate conspiracy” to use $200,000 of its legally protected reserve funds to revenue personally from dangerous cryptocurrency transactions.
It’s the second company to make related allegations of an investment scheme involving an organization referred to as Pink Piggy Investment Group Inc., the place Mr. Berger was a company officer and shareholder. The primary incident got here to gentle in a Globe and Mail investigation in 2023 that resulted within the suspension of Mr. Berger’s licence to handle condos. Finally, Mr. Berger obtained a everlasting ban in 2024 in a scathing ruling from the Licence Attraction Tribunal. Vice-chair Colin Osterberg wrote: “The Tribunal can haven’t any confidence that [Mr. Berger] is ready to act in accordance with the legislation or with honesty and integrity sooner or later.”
York Area Business Condominium 652 is a mixture of retail shops in a strip-mall model constructing at 3200 Steeles Ave. W. In accordance to a press release of declare filed in Ontario Superior Courtroom, it had contracted Mr. Berger for his administration companies for greater than 20 years – most lately along with his L & H Property Administration Inc. firm, with no points.
The declare states that in late 2022 Mr. Berger received approval from the YRCC 652 condominium board to make investments $200,000 with Pink Piggy on the declare that it was offering 12 per cent curiosity on a “assured investment certificates” that will be compliant with the Condominium Act’s legislated guidelines that bar the not-for-profit firms from high-risk investments with funds meant for capital tasks and upkeep.
On the identical time, Mr. Berger was making the identical pitch to a residential condominium, York Condominium Company 25, which invested $500,000 in Pink Piggy. By the autumn of 2023, YCC 25’s condominium lawyer, Evan Holt of Shibley Righton LLP, started to sound the alarm in letters to residents concerning the illegal nature of the Pink Piggy investment – noting {that a} scheduled curiosity cost of $30,000 had been missed in Could, 2023 – and that the securities regulators had issued bulletins warning that Pink Piggy was not registered to commerce securities.
After The Globe and Mail revealed a narrative about Mr. Berger’s YCC 25 actions on Sept. 20, the Condominium Administration Regulatory Authority of Ontario (CMRAO) started a probe that resulted in Mr. Berger’s suspension on Oct. 13.
“As quickly because the CMRAO turned conscious of the state of affairs, we initiated a immediate however thorough inspection. Apartment board members and others got here ahead and supplied proof,” stated Tsehaie Makonnen, CMRAO director of communications and outreach. “The CMRAO is not going to tolerate advising or soliciting condominiums to make unlawful investments of this nature, which put house owners at severe danger.”
In October, 2023, the CMRAO additionally notified purchasers of Mr. Berger’s firm L & H that it was at risk of dropping its licence to handle condominium properties, a step which the CMRAO adopted by means of with by Oct. 30.
In accordance to its assertion of declare it wasn’t till YRCC 652’s new property supervisor – Argo Property Administration, employed within the wake of Mr. Berger’s suspension – tried to get hold of data from Mr. Berger that the condominium realized it may need an issue. As Argo requested information of the Pink Piggy transaction Mr. Berger allegedly provided a $12,000 cheque for curiosity owed to the corporate and suggested that the Pink Piggy GIC had “auto-renewed” for one more 12 months. When Argo and YRCC questioned the validity of this auto-renewal and demanded the return of the $200,000 they obtained no additional contact with Mr. Berger.
“We’ve served them; we haven’t had any responses to our claims,” stated lawyer Chris Tonks with Prouse, Sprint & Crouch LLP, who’s representing YRCC 652. “Frankly talking, they only need to actually get their a reimbursement and put this to mattress.”
Mr. Tonks couldn’t touch upon whether or not some other of Mr. Berger’s former purchasers had invested cash within the Pink Piggy scheme, however urged anybody who had to contact him.
Mr. Berger didn’t reply to requests for touch upon the YRCC 652 state of affairs, although in 2023 he spoke to The Globe and denied that there was any wrongdoing concerning the virtually equivalent set of information with YCC 25. “What hurt has it achieved? Nothing, nothing has occurred,” he stated in a 2023 cellphone interview.
In one other new authorized submitting from YCC 25, made in January, 2025, the condominium states that whereas Mr. Berger did return most of its $500,000 (minus $30,000) they allege there was hurt achieved and are looking for greater than $325,000 in additional damages for breach of contract, negligence, unjust enrichment and damages associated to authorized prices incurred by the condominium.
Amid the declare is an allegation of incompetent report holding that resulted within the failure of a vital annual basic assembly, which in flip prompted the appointment of a court-ordered impartial Inspector (William Stratas of Eagle Audit Benefit) who discovered that Mr. Berger had breached his obligation of care concerning that 2021 AGM and election, a discovering upheld by a second skilled employed by YCC 25. In accordance to the declare the condominium’s prices associated to this inspection reached $192,308.
Mr. Tonks notes that whereas the CMRAO can revoke Mr. Berger’s licence, it doesn’t have the statutory capacity to get better funds misplaced by a rogue supervisor.
“Okay, you probably did dangerous lose your licence, however in case you’ve taken an entire lotta cash by means of mismanagement or another means, [condo corporations] are having to get better civilly,” he stated. “Except the CMRAO goes to institute some adjustments which will require condominium managers to be bonded or have some insurance coverage that backs them.”
Not one of the allegations in opposition to Mr. Berger have been confirmed in courtroom.
