Darlene Wheeler charged with 6 counts of fraud

A central Newfoundland woman accused by tenants of renting space in a Gander home she didn’t own is now facing criminal charges.

Darlene Wheeler, 46, has been charged with six counts of fraud under $5,000.

Wheeler, who now lives in Grand Falls-Windsor, was scheduled to appear in provincial court at Gander Tuesday morning.

Her lawyer appeared by phone on her behalf. Wheeler is now expected to enter a plea on March 31.

Unhappy tenants

As CBC Investigates reported last fall, Wheeler left behind a trail of unhappy tenants and apartment hunters in Gander.

• Apartment hunters targeted by Gander rental scam

Wheeler did not actually own the home on Melville Place in Gander. She was a tenant herself.

One apartment hunter, Julia Kavanagh, said last September that she reached an agreement with Wheeler and her husband to move into the basement of the home.

But Kavanagh told CBC Investigates she received a call from Wheeler informing her there was trouble moving out the tenants already living in the basement.

Kavanagh alleged that she ended up losing $1,200, after deciding not to stay with the Wheelers in the upstairs of the home.

Kavanagh is one of the alleged victims named in court documents.

The six alleged frauds took place between July and October 2014.