Trouble tenant gets six months in jail
Nina Willis, 51, was found guilty of defrauding landlords on her rental applications
Nina Willis, a Toronto tenant found guilty of defrauding two of her former landlords, has been sent to jail.
A visibly emotional Willis hugged two young women and a man who accompanied her to the hearing at College Park Court, and was then handcuffed and removed from the courtroom shortly before 11:30 a.m.
Willis, 51, was found guilty of two counts of fraud under $5,000 and two counts of false pretense under $5,000, for misleading two landlords on her rental applications, and in emails she provided when applying to rent their homes.
She was handed six months in jail and one year of probation. The sentencing hearing started on April 10, but was adjourned so she could organize her affairs and then surrender to the court. Much of Monday’s short appearance was spent discussing what Willis should be ordered to pay her two former landlords.
Assistant crown attorney Craig Power asked for a total of about $7,000, but questioned if the emo- tional hardship and time needed to recover the funds would be worth it.
“To put it frankly, I am not sure that they can handle being subject to her again,” he said.
Willis said media coverage of her story meant she recently lost a job and is on government assistance. She also complained about court costs.
“I have been made an example . . . I cannot secure a place in my name, so I have been very, very punished,” she said.
Justice Alphonse Lacavera said the landlords clearly suffered financial losses, but noted she was unemployed and did not order her to pay.
That decision prompted Willis to flash a thumbs-up sign behind her back.
She has already stated that she intends to appeal.
Willis has been evicted from seven properties since 2005 for failing to pay rent, according to court and tribunal documents and interviews with former landlords and lawyers.