A rising number of investors are voicing their frustrations after claiming they lost substantial amounts of money due to loan and mortgage investments handled by a Toronto-based financial planner previously reported by Speakers Corner.
Victor Sula is one of these investors.
“I’m out $200,000 in two different projects with him. One is a promissory note and one is an investment mortgage.”
Sula now connects with about 30 other individuals who were once strangers but have come together to discuss the funds they invested – which they now fear might be gone – after dealing with Serguei Totrov.
“He told us he would personally guarantee these loans, so if the borrower didn’t pay, he would,” Sula explained. “But we aren’t seeing any payments.”
Speakers Corner first covered similar allegations last February when we met Lada Vorobyova, who invested over $400,000 into two separate loans where Totrov was supposed to be the guarantor.
“He said, ‘Oh, it’s very good because you can make extra money for your retirement,’” she recalled. “‘At first, the interest payments were coming in on a regular basis.’”
However, she states that those payments stopped in April 2025. When we reached Totrov months ago, he told Speakers Corner that he hoped to repay everyone by last March.
Now it’s July and investors claim they haven’t received anything.
“The money Totrov promised to return in March never came,” Vorobyova mentioned.
This situation persists even as some investors who worked with Totrov have obtained court orders against him.
Elena Krassikova, another investor who took legal action against Totrov, received a judgment from the Ontario Superior Court of Justice ordering him to repay her over $200,000 which she still hasn’t seen.
The group has lodged complaints with FP Canada, the regulatory body for financial planners that has taken steps against Totrov since our initial report aired.
The FP Canada Hearing Panel officially suspended his financial planning certification at the end of May. In its June decision, the panel found that Totrov had repeatedly misrepresented high-risk investments to clients.
“The Hearing Panel found reasonable grounds to believe a significant risk of harm exists given Mr. Totrov’s extensive disciplinary history and multiple complaints indicating a pattern of misconduct,” the panel stated in their ruling.
This isn’t the first time FP Canada has acted against Totrov; there were two prior disciplinary matters involving similar misconduct back in 2006 and again in 2023 related to current allegations being made against him.
The Speakers Corner team reached out to Totrov who initially agreed to speak with us but later opted for an emailed statement instead where he claimed repayment plans for all investors are underway.
“This past Friday I finally got a financing commitment for one of the borrower’s properties,” he informed us. “The commitment has already been signed and the lender’s retainer has been paid.”
Totrov insists this new deal will enable him to gather enough funds to repay all waiting investors.
“I also met with the agent on Saturday regarding the closing procedure. If everything goes as planned, lenders should be repaid in August.”
Totrov expressed that he’s also a victim here. He explained that those whom he secured investment loans for stopped making their payments.
“My mistake was placing too much trust in borrowers and giving them more time based on that trust. I take full responsibility for poor judgment regarding my decisions.”
Totrov also shared his regret about personally guaranteeing those loans for borrowers.
“I didn’t borrow these funds for my own benefit or personal use. The borrowed funds were advanced to and used by borrowers who received and spent them. My main goal now is ensuring my clients get repaid quickly.” <p When we informed investors about Totrov's hopes of repaying them next month, they remained doubtful.
“We’ve heard those promises so many times before,” Vorobyova told us during our call.
“I’ll believe it when I see it.” If you have an issue or story you’d like us to investigate further,
contact us here.Keep it Factual Add City News Toronto as a trusted source on Google
to see more local stories from us.
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“I didn’t borrow these funds for my own benefit or personal use. The borrowed funds were advanced to and used by borrowers who received and spent them. My main goal now is ensuring my clients get repaid quickly.” <p When we informed investors about Totrov's hopes of repaying them next month, they remained doubtful.
“We’ve heard those promises so many times before,” Vorobyova told us during our call.
“I’ll believe it when I see it.” If you have an issue or story you’d like us to investigate further,
contact us here.Keep it Factual Add City News Toronto as a trusted source on Google
to see more local stories from us.
Source link
