Two men have been charged with fraud after allegedly taking ownership of an Etobicoke bakery while reneging on a deal to pay.

Toronto police say the two men approached the owners of the 36,000-square-foot bakery and agreed to buy the building but failed to transfer payment to the owners after taking possession. Police said there was “no intention of payment” and allege the men, operators of Easton Pharmaceuticals, altered attorney letters to make it appear as though they legitimately bought the building.

In late October, 39-year-old Evangelos Karayannopoulos of Oakville and 51-year-old Vincent DeMasi of Toronto were arrested and charged with fraud and forging documents. Police said Karayannopoulos often goes by the name Evan Kerras.

Toronto-based Easton Pharmaceuticals describes itself as a “specialty pharmaceutical company” on its website and says it previously developed and owned FDA-approved drugs for wound healing. Its stock was being traded on the OTC Pink exchange — known for less-rigorous reporting requirements — in the U.S. until the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission suspended the company’s trading rights on Nov. 20.

In an email to the Star, Karayannopoulos, Easton’s CEO, said he and DeMasi were caught off-guard by the charges.

“We can tell you that our legal counsel are not aware of any request for information by the Toronto Police and we are unaware as to the details of the allegations and the charges made. We were shocked and appalled, to say the least,” Karayannopoulos said.

“We are certain that once this matter is further investigated, the true victims will be revealed and those responsible will be held accountable for their actions,” Karayannopoulos said.

In April the company announced it had acquired the bakery, Supreme Sweets Inc., operating on Brockhouse Rd. in Etobicoke, calling the acquisition “strategic for Easton to enter the Cannabis Edibles market and to supply premium Cannabis Edibles for various ailments through its existing distribution channels, while it continues to grow the traditional baked goods business.”

The SEC, in its suspension order issued on Nov. 19, found that “Questions have arisen regarding the accuracy and adequacy of information in the marketplace about the company’s operations and the company’s recent public announcements concerning an acquisition, including an April 24, 2019 press release stating (Easton Pharmaceuticals) had ‘completed its acquisition of Supreme Sweets Inc.’”

The summer prior, Easton announced it was expanding operations to enter the real estate, hospitality, gaming, and the recreational and medical marijuana industry, “of course.” In a report issued on June 30 the company said the Supreme Sweets assets its acquired were valued at over $9 million. The same report says Easton placed $100,000 in trust for the purchase of the Brockhouse Road site.

Easton said it had also placed a $25,000 deposit on a building on Airport Road “for the purpose of creating a beverage bottling company for infused products.” The report added that the company was poised to sell “fully operational video slot games” and “bingo game content” to American casinos in the near future.

According to an SEC filing from late 2018, at the time Supreme Sweets was a subsidiary of a U.S. franchising company called Cruzani Inc.

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The SEC trading suspension will last until midnight Wednesday. Toronto police say they are concerned there may be more victims.

With files from Josh Rubin