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UNFORGETTABLE SAGAS, SCOOPS AND SCANDALS
from Toronto Life’slong-form archives
Dear Reader,
This week, we revisit “The Tenant From Hell,” a deep dive into serial fraudster Jesse Gubb’s citywide rooming house scam. The piece is a disturbing look inside Toronto’s once-unregulated landscape—something that’s now set to change in 2024, after more than a decade of city hall debate over whether to legalize such housing. We also recommend immersing yourself in “Model Citizen”—a delightful profile of Jean-Louis Brenninkmeijer, who became charmingly obsessed with replicating Canada in miniature—and “What Happened to Rohinie Bisesar?,” a 2016 investigation into the devastating and often tragic consequences of untreated mental illness.
–Lauren McKeon, deputy editor
How a serial fraudster took advantage of Toronto’s red-hot real estate market
BY KAT SHERMACK | AUGUST 20, 2015
When Wilf Dinnick and Sonia Verma left Toronto to work overseas in 2014, they knew they’d eventually return to the city. Rather than part ways with their four-bedroom near Dundas and Ossington, the couple rented it out to a tenant named Jesse Gubb. Little did they know, their lessee was a prolific scam artist who made his living turning homes like theirs into illegal rooming houses. This story by Kat Shermack unravels Gubb’s elaborate con, laying bare the abhorrent conditions of his so-called properties and exploring how Toronto became a breeding ground for his particular brand of swindling.
This man was born into an unfathomably rich European dynasty. He used a little of that wealth—and a lot of tenacity—to build his $24-million miniature version of Canada at Yonge and Dundas
BY LUC RINALDI | JULY 8, 2021
Most aging members of billionaire families would opt to live out their lives on yachts, breathing in the ocean air with a glass of rosé in hand. But Jean-Louis Brenninkmeijer’s ambitions are bigger—or, rather, much smaller. Instead of retiring in opulence, he’s spending his riches ($10 million of his own money and counting) pursuing his bizarre hobby: constructing a sprawling, outrageously detailed miniature replica of Canada. As Luc Rinaldi writes in this freakishly fun piece, such a peculiar and patriotic project would be a zany undertaking for anyone. It’s even stranger for a European transplant who once had little knowledge of Canada.
She had an MBA, a network of Bay Street mentors and experience at one of the city’s most prestigious investment firms. Now she’s accused of a grisly stabbing
BY RAIZEL ROBIN | APRIL 19, 2016
Rohinie Bisesar was a bright and ambitious business school grad set on making it in the cutthroat financial world. She pulled nearly 100-hour weeks on Bay Street, desperate to work her way up from the bottom rungs. But, over time, she struggled to hold down a job. After a long stretch of unemployment, her behaviour turned increasingly erratic and aggressive, culminating in her shocking stabbing of a stranger in 2015. Published as Bisesar awaited trial—she would be found not criminally responsible for the fatal attack in 2018—this feature explores the complexity of mental illness and the elusive nature of guilt.
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JANUARY 2023: TRUE TALES FROM THE RENTAL CRISIS
Toronto is a city of renters. Nearly half of all Torontonians lease their space, either by choice or, let’s be real, necessity. Renting is supposed to be cheaper, more attainable, less stressful—a way to build a home without having to actually buy one. So why is it such a nightmare? Our January issue features stories about soaring prices, out-of-control bidding wars, shrinking square footage, greedy landlords, and more. If you’re still not receiving Toronto Life at home, what are you waiting for? Subscribe today.
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