If you have driven south on Highway 11 near Oriliia you may have noticed the large sign on the side of roadway accusing a long list of lawyers, judges, law enforcement, and lenders of committing a variety of crimes.
Robert Woods, who lives in a residence adjacent to the highway — just south of Orillia between Line 14 and Line 15 — said he has displayed the sign for more than a year after dealings with Ontario lenders and legal representatives who he alleges fraudulently took his money and property.
Woods’s sign accuses numerous parties of bankruptcy fraud, insurance fraud and mortgage fraud, among many other crimes he says are connected to a legal battle that saw him lose two properties — a show home and a hotel — in Sudbury around 2014-15.
“In this whole scenario, my company borrowed a substantial amount of money,” Woods told OrilliaMatters. “(There was) a house that I was building. It was supposed to be a show home, and then, shortly after, within a year of doing that, I went out and bought a hotel up in Sudbury (with the) same lenders again.”
Woods said his lenders took large sums of money from him, alleging they threatened him, putting him in a compromised financial position — ultimately leading to the loss of his properties.
He also alleges several lawyers and judges colluded to allow his properties to be taken illegally and without the proper paperwork in place.
“I want it all back because they took it illegally,” he said.
Since displaying the sign on the side of one of the province’s busiest highways, Woods said he has been visited by officials from the Oro-Medonte bylaw department and the Ontario Provincial Police, who say the sign goes against township bylaws. However, he maintains he has the right to display the sign.
Curtis Shelswell, manager of the township’s municipal law division, told OrilliaMatters the sign is not legally displayed, and he confirmed township staff have spoken with Woods.
“The sign is in contravention of the township’s sign bylaw, meaning it is not legally displayed,” he said.
“Municipal law staff have had conversations in the past with the resident who put the sign up. Given the sensitive nature of messaging on the sign, the township has attempted to take an approach of understanding while also appreciating concerns raised by surrounding residents and neighbours.”
Shelswell said the township intends to further discuss the sign with Woods, “with a goal of adjusting the sign to meet the township’s sign bylaw.”
Oro-Medonte Mayor Randy Greenlaw did not respond to numerous requests for comment on this story.
