A Toronto businessman accused in court filings of being one of two masterminds in a multimillion-dollar COVID-19-related Ponzi scheme can’t be located as angry creditors, their lawyers and shadowy figures with ties to illegal gambling rings try to find him and their money.
Mark E. Cohen, who previously worked in the rental car industry at Toronto’s Pearson International Airport, hasn’t been seen at his North York home since August, according to documents filed with the Ontario Superior Court of Justice. The documents also say that he hasn’t been in contact with investors for months.
While some of those investors have turned to the courts to challenge Cohen, others have taken matters into their own hands, CBC News has learned.
According to a source familiar with the situation, who is not authorized to speak publicly on the matter, some individuals with ties to illegal gambling rings in Woodbridge, north of Toronto, have made late-night visits to the 42-year-old’s former home, and the homes of his family members, making violent threats and demanding to know Cohen’s whereabouts to get their money back.
Cohen is facing three lawsuits accusing him of convincing investors to help him buy used cars that would be resold at huge profits amid the pandemic-triggered vehicle shortage last year.
None of the allegations against him or other defendants named in the filings has been proven in court.
Investors were promised returns of as much as 13 per cent a month…
