Man charged with rental scam convicted of unrelated fraud

Released on bail earlier this month in connection with an alleged rental scam, Raymond Trudel was back in the courtroom Tuesday, where he was convicted of an unrelated but similar charge.

Trudel, 35, was found guilty of a single count of fraud over $5,000, after a woman purchased decorative trees from him for her property, but he never delivered them. Trudel was charged early this year.

Provincial court Judge Mike Madden found Trudel guilty of having pocketed the woman’s money instead, despite Trudel’s insistence he had delivered the trees as promised.

Madden didn’t accept Trudel’s excuse of having forgotten where he had purchased the trees and lost the receipts.

Trudel will return at a later date for sentencing. In the meantime, he’s facing dozens of charges in connection with a scam he’s alleged to have orchestrated last summer: allegations of making false rental agreements, receipts for rent and damage deposits; defrauding people of hundreds of dollars each; and breaches of court orders.

Sources allege Trudel ran an apartment rental scam in St. John’s, posing as the landlord of at least two apartments he did not own or have the right to rent. He allegedly collected money from potential tenants for damage deposits or to hold the apartment until they could move in, later avoiding contact with them or informing them the place was no longer available.

Many of the victims were reportedly post-secondary students, according to the sources.