Swindled Calgary homeowner gets land title back

A Calgary homeowner who was swindled out of his own property finally has his land title back in his name.

But Calgary lawyer Cass Lintott says his client Seyfeddin Mohammed is now on the hook for tens of thousand of dollars in legal costs and other fees.

"As far as title stands, title is back in Mr. Mohammed's name," Lintott said.  

"As far as I'm concerned there's definitely something wrong going on here that should be investigated."

Earlier this year, a judge ruled against Derek Johnson, a man who's been posing as a realtor in Calgary.

Derek Johnson serves as the pitchman for a website called freelistcalgary.com.

Property transferred before payment

Mohammed sold his home to a company controlled by Johnson. The property was transferred out of Mohammed's name before he got paid.

Johnson was fined earlier this year for trading in real estate without authorization.

The Court of Queens' Bench has declared him, his numbered companies and several of his business associates as vexatious litigants — meaning they can't commence legal action without special permission from the court.

Lintott says it's a relief, but he doubts his client will recover his costs.

"In circumstances like this, the odds of collecting are not high," Lintott said.

In an email, Johnson refused a request for an interview and denied any wrongdoing in his dealings with Mohammed.