Real estate broker, family financially exploited man with intellectual disability, lawsuit alleges
CBC
A man is suing three members of a Winnipeg family and a real estate broker he alleges used his intellectual disability to financially exploit him through property deals in Canada and India, leaving him out hundreds of thousands of dollars.
"I am not the bad guy here, but I am losing everything," said Gagandeep Pejatta, 56, who filed his statement of claim in the Manitoba Court of King's Bench on Oct. 27.
The lawsuit alleges Charanjit Uppal, his wife, Ravinder Uppal, and their son, Sundeep Uppal, financially exploited Pejatta. A real estate broker associated with the family also breached his duty of care to Pejatta, the lawsuit alleges.
In late 2021, following a divorce, Pejatta moved from Brampton, Ont., to Winnipeg, where the Uppal family — longtime friends of his mother — lived.
"I felt like these are gonna be good people," he said in an interview, though he was nervous about moving to Winnipeg, a city he was unfamiliar with.
Pejatta has been diagnosed with intellectual disability and post-traumatic stress disorder, and "there was a clear understanding that, owing to his intellectual disability … [he] required special assistance," according to the lawsuit.
"It was based on his mother's wishes and trust in the Uppal family that [he] moved to Winnipeg."
His lawsuit alleges the Uppal family asked Pejatta to make withdrawals worth more than half a million dollars from his accounts, which were deposited to Uppal family accounts, and exploited his disability to convince him to work without pay at their business.
Real estate broker Avinash Chander is accused of breaching his obligations as a licensed real estate broker in connection with two mortgages involving Pejatta.
None of the allegations have been tested in court, and the defendants filed a motion Dec. 11 to stay the proceedings in the lawsuit, pending appointment of a guardian for Pejatta.
Uppal family members deny allegations they took advantage of Pejatta and claim he doesn't have an intellectual disability.
Pejatta says after arriving in Winnipeg in 2021, he first stayed in the office space of a restaurant Charanjit Uppal owned. He later moved to a storage room of another business while the family helped him find a place to live.
Charanjit Uppal and real estate broker Chander arranged to get a mortgage in Pejatta's name to buy a house on Pacific Avenue W. in 2022. They then helped him get another mortgage for a second house on Alexander Avenue W., Pejatta's lawsuit says.
According to his lawsuit, Pejatta did not have the mental capacity to fully comprehend mortgage agreements, property ownership and rental income, and so could not provide informed consent on the transactions.
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