Woman claims she's victim of 'love bombing,' owed thousands
Christina MacCrimmon says a 2-month romance has left her nearly $300K in debt
Like a scene from one of her favourite romance novels, Christina MacCrimmon recalls dancing in the kitchen with the man who she thought was the love of her life.
"He called it 'Romance Fridays' and he'd send me these love songs," MacCrimmon recalled. "He treated me with such love and devotion, he just had me on this pedestal."
But this story doesn't have a happy ending.
MacCrimmon says the whirlwind, two-month romance has left her nearly $300,000 in debt and married to a man she now alleges manipulated her to gain access to her money. With police saying it will take a long time to investigate and no money to hire a lawyer, MacCrimmon says she has nowhere to turn.
CBC has discovered the same man has been accused of fraud by multiple people and is facing a number of civil and small claims lawsuits concerning his contracting business.
I felt that I finally met somebody who is my soulmate.- Christina MacCrimmon
MacCrimmon, 49, started dating Francis Charron, 48, in November 2023, and fell head over heels.
"He portrayed himself to be that perfect. He found out exactly what I wanted in somebody and then behaved and was that perfect man," she recalled.
They got engaged on Dec. 19, 2023. Just 10 days later, her world came crashing down.
MacCrimmon said Charron told her and her parents that he likely had terminal brain cancer.
"We were all crying. I was a mess at Christmas because I thought he was dying," she recalled from her home in Ottawa.
They got married shortly after on Jan. 21, 2024.
Before the wedding, in a Facebook message to MacCrimmon's father, Charron confirmed the illness, writing: "I have stage 4 brain cancer."
MacCrimmon and her family are devout Christians and living together before marriage wasn't an option. So they sped things up, mostly because Charron was sick and MacCrimmon wanted to take care of him, but also because she said Charron told her he wanted to protect assets from his ex by transferring them into MacCrimmon's name.
He told her it's free to transfer assets like trailers and vehicles to your spouse because there's no tax. She agreed.
"You know, when you're at this age, people have that kind of baggage … but I felt that I finally met somebody who is my soulmate," she said.
The ceremony was small, with only MacCrimmon's eldest child, her parents and two of Charron's kids in attendance. She said the plan was to have a full celebration later in the year.
"It was literally to make it legal so that we can take care of business for him and so that I could take care of him and move in with him," said MacCrimmon.
Denial and heartbreak
But just two days later, MacCrimmon said Charron was storming out of her house, whipping her cellphone against a brick wall and yelling at her.
The moment was captured on security camera footage that has been viewed by CBC.
"You too, you fat bitch!" Charron can be heard yelling at her. "By the way, just because you did this, I will go bankrupt and take everything you have!"
MacCrimmon said the fight was about her not telling her ex about their marriage. It was the beginning of the end of their relationship, although they remain legally married.
"He took everything. This is my whole life, this is my savings. I'm going to be struggling to even retire now," MacCrimmon said, fighting tears.
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After a long period of denial and heartbreak, she's now convinced Charron never had nor even believed he had cancer, and targeted her for money, taking advantage of her trusting nature, kindness and compassion.
She alleges he manipulated her into loaning him money by "love bombing" her with affection and compliments, but also by making her feel sorry for him because of his own financial hardships.
Over the brief course of their two-month relationship, MacCrimmon said she loaned Charron money from her line of credit, allowed him to use her credit card and eventually added him as a supplementary card holder.
She said she had to increased the limit because the card was maxed out by his spending. MacCrimmon said she also refinanced her home to help Charron pay off high-interest debt and keep his business afloat.
He was also added as a co-borrower on the home equity line of credit, but MacCrimmon said the home is solely owned by her, which now puts her at risk of default.
"He definitely targeted me because he knew that I had excellent credit, he knew that I had my life together, I owned my own house, I have my own car," she said, adding she lives a modest lifestyle earning about $50,000 a year.
In the end, she wrote in her police report Charron owes her nearly $300,000.
CBC contacted Charron to get his side of the story, but his lawyer declined an interview.
Prior to that refusal, Charron did provide some written responses to CBC's questions. In an email, Charron wrote: "I am not those things and loved Christina very much." He said he left because his "emotional and mental health was very toxic," and that he intends to pay his "half of the debts."
Charron also denied saying he ever had brain cancer.
MacCrimmon reported her story to the Ottawa Police Service (OPS), but said she was told there is a lengthy backlog because of a high volume of claims and a shortage of resources.
While she isn't hopeful she'll ever get any of her money back, MacCrimmon said she wanted to go public to warn others about a man who she says betrayed her trust.
List of litigation
A CBC investigation found Charron has a list of civil and small claims lawsuits against him and his companies, SLC Contracting Inc. and SLC Innovations Inc.
During the investigation, CBC dug up five civil lawsuits and three small claims suits in Ontario involving Charron and his companies.
"I honestly believe he came onto our property and he found another victim," said Trish Calof. She and her husband hired Charron in June 2024 to build their dream backyard.
The Calofs said they came across SLC Contracting Inc. on the Best in Ottawa website where it was rated Number 1 for retaining walls.
They said the company also had an A+ rating on the Better Business Bureau website at the time. That website now lists the company's accreditation as "currently suspended."
"He had all the right answers," said Ron Calof. He said Charron's reference checked out and there were no red flags raised during their initial communication.
The couple said they paid Charron a $20,000 deposit and signed a contract with a planned payment schedule based on completion of work. After they paid the deposit, they say the requests for more money kept coming despite the work not being done.
The Calofs said Charron continued to threaten bankruptcy if he didn't receive additional funds for the project, and also asked for money for insurance to keep the project moving.
I believe he came in there with that intent, to come get a bunch of money from us, do a little bit of work and then leave.- Trish Calof
Ultimately, the Calofs said they paid SLC Contracting Inc. a total of $45,840.42, only to be left with their backyard torn up and a retaining wall that they said needs to be replaced.
In September 2024, the Calofs sued Charron in small claims court and won, receiving a $35,000 judgment in their favour, the highest amount allotted in that court. They have yet to see a dime of that money.
"I believe he came in there with that intent, to come get a bunch of money from us, do a little bit of work and then leave," Trish Calof said.
Their lawyer Michael Rankin, a senior partner in Gowling WLG's Ottawa office, provided some pro bono advice to the Calofs and said he was involved in the case on a peripheral basis.
"It appeared obvious from my assessment of that case that the contractor had no intention whatsoever of completing the project, even though he had received very substantial money from the plaintiffs in that case," Rankin said.
Speaking about fraud in general, Rankin said wilful deceit and misrepresentation are "at the heart of fraud," and that often there is a pattern of behaviour.
"In my experience, there are many what I would call serial fraudsters that are out there in the community and that have many victims," he said.
CBC also reviewed case documents from other disputes involving Charron and/or his companies including two civil suits where a judgment was ordered against him in the amounts of $73,300 for an unfinished basement renovation, and $88,852.21 for unpaid fuel products.
Charron admits he's made mistakes.
"I'm not proud of the mistakes I've made, but I am not a criminal. I'm not a fraud artist. Nobody talks about the good jobs we've done, that's the way life works. You screw up, you answer for it," he wrote in an email to CBC.
Charron is also embroiled in other ongoing civil and small claims disputes involving his company, but none of the allegations has been tested in court.
In one ongoing case, Adam Thompson is trying to recoup his alleged losses from a man he trusted.
"Francis is a charming guy, like gregarious. He's loud, he's rough around the edges, but so am I. So like, we seem to get along with that," Thompson said. "In retrospect, I feel he's really good at mirroring, and he maybe presents differently to different people."
Their dispute is over a contract for the removal and reinstallation of retaining walls beside Thompson's driveway. Thompson is suing Charron for breach of contract in the amount of $35,000 plus interest.
Charron disputes the claim, saying in defence documents the project was delayed due to rain, and issues with personnel and materials. He also said Thompson was verbally violent, a claim Thompson denies.
Similar to the Calofs' case, Thompson said he also sent Charron an additional $3,000 to pay for insurance to keep his trucks on the road.
"When you're in the middle of a project and you've got your yard torn up and you have a contractor saying I need to pay my insurance, of course alarm bells are going off like crazy. But you're dealing with embarrassment and also like a panic to try to get to the finish line," Thompson said.
None of these allegations has been proven. Thompson's driveway remains unfinished with a retaining wall he said needs to be replaced.
Hard to get money back
In some cases, court orders contained in civil and small claims judgments go unfulfilled, according to Jennifer Quaid, an associate professor in the civil section of the law faculty at the University of Ottawa.
She said it's especially difficult if the individual has no assets or is able to keep their assets away from authorities by transferring them to other people.
"And that is a problem. We don't anymore have the concept of going to prison in lieu of paying your debts," Quaid said, adding it's not an idea she thinks society should bring back.
Quaid said bad actors have a way of skirting the rules. Take the bankruptcy system, for example.
"The bankruptcy system is designed to help people in financial difficulty have an orderly winding up of their affairs and to be able to start afresh ... but there are of course circumstances where the ability to dissolve a company and then create a new one gives you a fresh start to start more schemes," she said.
A search on the Superintendent of Bankruptcy website found four Francis Charrons with the same birth date as the Francis Charron who owns SLC Contracting Inc. claimed bankruptcy in 2004, 2012, 2013, and 2017.
He's also changed company names at least once. The Ontario Business Registry shows SLC Innovations Inc. was registered in August 2020, and SLC Contractors Inc. was registered in October 2022.
A series of online complaints and warnings about Charron dates back to 2014.
Taking complaints to social media
Some people who say they've lost money to Charron have taken their complaints to social media, including Jennifer Benedict and Kevin McCartney.
They said they sent Charron $4,200 in September 2024 for a wood shed he was selling online, but it never arrived.
The owner of Crawford Sheds Inc., a local shed builder in Ottawa, confirmed to CBC that Charron had purchased the shed in question from them but did not provide payment upon delivery, so it was eventually returned to their lot.
"[I'm] just angry that someone is allowed to be in our community and doing this to other people," said Jennifer Benedict.
The couple has now received $4,000 back from Charron after months of asking for the money and a report to OPS.
"So we got our money back, but it's somebody else's money probably.... That's likely what's going on, so it just continues," Kevin McCartney said.
Charron said the shed was a "bad decision."
"I plan to use the money to pay off the shed. The shed was repossessed before I could pay them. My company was running drastically in the red. The money was gone," he wrote.
Triaging fraud cases
The majority of people CBC spoke to for this story took their concerns about Charron to the police, but have yet to see any action.
The OPS is swamped when it comes to fraud complaints, according to Det. Shaun Wahbeh, who has spent the past 13 years working in the fraud department.
"We have a two-year backlog right now with Ottawa police, and most police forces are the same," he said, adding he can't comment on specific cases.
"Fraud is probably the most reported crime right now. Like we'll come back on a Monday morning and there will be 70 new fraud files, so that's how crazy it is. And then we have to go through them all to see if they're investigatable," Wahbeh said.
It's not just the number of cases that makes it tough to follow up on fraud files. Wahbeh said the nature of the fraud itself has changed, with the majority happening online and money being transferred out of the country.
He said the department triages each case like a hospital triages patients.
"We read every file that comes in and look at solvability factors," he said, noting the amount of money lost does not necessarily play a role.
We can't police our way out of fraud. It's like the war on drugs — look how that worked.- Det.-Sgt. John Armit, OPP
"It has no relevance whether it's a $1 million or $10,000…. It's what can we follow up on it, and is it in the best public interest? And Number 2, will the courts run with it? Courts don't run with every single fraud file we give them. They focus more on the violent crimes," Wahbeh said.
Last year, Canadians lost nearly $638 million to fraud, according to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre. That's up from $578 million in 2023.
"We can't police our way out of fraud. It's like the war on drugs — look how that worked," said John Armit, a detective sergeant with the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) anti-rackets branch.
Armit, who has been with the provincial police force for 24 years, said similar to OPS, OPP has a significant backlog. He said victims need to advocate for themselves and build their case to give as much information as possible to police.
"I try to empower the victim to start being their own detective, gather that information, help build that package for the investigator," he said. "Squeaky wheel gets the grease."
Armit explained that sometimes victims of fraud don't know how prolific a fraudster is, adding it's crucial to report to police and the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre.
"I always say, taking down a buffalo can be done with a million mosquitoes," Armit said, adding the best tool to fight fraud is prevention and awareness.
He said the OPP is working with its members and the public to educate them on what exactly fraud is, so they can decide whether to pursue charges criminally or take the matter to civil court.
'Unimaginable' behaviour
MacCrimmon said for now, she's at a standstill. She reported her story to police, but doesn't have enough money to hire a lawyer to pursue civil litigation, nor even attempt to annul the marriage or file for divorce.
This past October, long after their relationship ended, she said Charron renewed her mortgage early — without her permission — at a higher interest rate.
She believes it was an attempt to add to her financial burden and force her to sell the house to relieve him of the debt.
"I know it's just [a] simple townhouse, but it was really hard to start over from my previous relationships. I used my retirement savings to purchase it," she said.
MacCrimmon said Charron told her he doesn't care if she ends up homeless.
While CBC did receive some responses from Charron, he did not respond to all the allegations or follow-up requests for clarification.
"It's just unimaginable to think that somebody can honestly do what he has done and still be able to live with themselves the next day," MacCrimmon said.
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