Editor’s note (April 4): Calgary police have issued a correction stating the undeveloped RV park referenced in this story is located northwest of Sundre, not southeast as originally indicated in a previous news release.
A Chestermere man is facing a fraud charge after Calgary police alleged he sold dozens of long-term leases at an undeveloped RV park that never received municipal approvals.
Between August 2017 and September 2020, 26 lots were sold under 99-year leases for as much as $169,000 apiece at a proposed campground northwest of Sundre, police said Thursday.
Investigators allege Craig Douglas McMorran, 64, used a company called Clearwater Cottages Ltd. to advertise and sell the lots, which were marketed for between $39,900 and $69,900 each. A lot-and-cottage package sold for $169,000.
Police say McMorran began construction on the site in the fall of 2017 despite not having a development permit from Clearwater County. The municipality issued orders to stop, but development continued.
In January 2022, a court granted a permanent injunction barring further work on the RV park, and all leaseholders were ordered off the land by June 30 of that year.
By then, several Calgary-based leaseholders learned the lots had been sold fraudulently, police said, as the land was neither zoned for recreational use nor approved for development.
Calgary police say their Economic Crimes Unit opened an investigation after receiving several complaints. The 26 buyers are believed to have lost a combined total of about $1.5 million.
McMorran is charged with one count of fraud over $5,000. He remains in custody in connection with an unrelated matter and is scheduled to appear in court on May 6.
“We encourage anyone who believes they are a victim of fraud to report it so we can investigate appropriately,” police said in the release. Buyers are urged to research sellers and seek legal advice before entering into real estate transactions.
Anyone with information is asked to call police at 403-266-1234 or submit tips anonymously through Crime Stoppers.
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