Image Credit: Facebook/ Kelowna Scammers/Thieves Page

SHE HAS TROUBLE RENTING, GETTING A BANK ACCOUNT, PAYING OFF HIS DEBTS IN HER NAME

KELOWNA - After what she says was a childhood of terrified silence, when Faye Travis saw the recent media coverage of her father Sean Starkes, she knew it was time to come forward and share her story.

“I want to stop my father from hurting and harming other people,” Faye told iNFOnews.ca. “The stuff that he has done to good, whole-hearted people, it’s terrible. And I can’t bear to see that anymore.”

Faye is Sean’s biological daughter, raised by him and her mother alongside Wyatt Andruchow and their youngest brother, who has severe autism. Although Faye left home last May at 18 years old, she said forget her abusive past. Her father’s reputation follows her wherever she goes.

“I have trouble finding a house,” Faye said. “To see if the landlord would be willing to rent to me is very difficult because as soon as they do a check on me and search my name, my dad’s name comes up.”

Sean Starkes is well-known in Salmon Arm, where Faye moved after leaving home. Over the past 30 years, Sean has accumulated 19 criminal charges in Kelowna, West Kelowna, Vernon, Lake Country and Salmon Arm, under many aliases including Sean Travis, Sean Quinton and Sean Andruchow. In addition to his criminal record, Sean has been involved in 12 civil suits in Provincial Small Claims court.

She said she was inspired by her brother Wyatt who spoke about his father last week, to come forward and set the record straight. It also sparked a reunion of sorts for the siblings who are still unravelling many of his lies — including the ones he told each of them about the other.

Andruchow told iNFOnews.ca he felt compelled to speak out after a number of former landlords, many claiming they were stuck with large bills and stolen items from their rental homes, banded together to warn other landlords about him.

Faye said she knows exactly what they are going through — she is still paying for the sins of her father.

“I want people to realize, I may be the daughter of a criminal (but) coming from an abusive household does not make me the exact same," she said.

Faye Travis

Image Credit: SUBMITTED

The house that Faye is renting currently is on the market, and she fears she may have to go through the battle of finding a new place sooner than she thought.

“They automatically assume I am just like him, so they don’t want to rent to me, they find somebody else instead,” she said, “I am nothing like my father, and I never wish to be anything like him.”

Sean Starkes declined to be interviewed for this story. He has threatened various legal action from earlier reporting and insists the combined community exposure has resulted in death threats and assault, though he offered no proof.

Growing up, Faye said was forced to partake in some of Sean’s various schemes.

“He would threaten me that if I didn’t help him, I would end up homeless or in foster care,” Faye said. “After being in foster care for a year and a half at seven years old, I did not want to be in care.”

Among Sean’s many ‘businesses’ already exposed, she said he was also buying and reselling cars. Faye said he would have her hold up the transfer form for a newly purchased vehicle up to a window with a flashlight. She said he would then press a blank set of transfer papers up to the other side.

READ MORE: '17 years of pure hell:' Kelowna man calls out step-dad Sean Starkes for misdeeds

“He would trace over with a pencil on the person’s signature until he got it perfect, then he'd over the pencil with a pen, then after that he’d erase the pencil,” Faye said.

This way, Sean’s name would not be in the sale at all.

“It looked like the person he bought the car [from], sold the car to the person he sold the car [to],” Faye said.

Faye said that this was in part to get around the fact her father wasn’t allowed to drive. For as long as she can remember, he never had a valid driver’s license. Many of his criminal charges involve driving while prohibited.

This was why she said she was also made to forge temporary insurance permits for her father.

“He would force me to make permits for him, so he would have me pull pictures up from online, or we’d get ahold of a one-day permit to drive a vehicle,” she said. “Then he’d have me splice it so that it was for more than one day, and then would have me print it out.”

In order to do this, Faye used a Paint program on her home computer.

Just as her father’s reputation follows her into adulthood, so does his debts.

“He took my (Social Insurance) number, my (B.C. Health) care card and my birth certificate and he was signing up for stuff like Shaw and Telus, putting it in my name, racking up a bill and not paying for it,” she said. “I actually still get emails from Telus from the last account he made me set up… telling me I owe this, and if it’s not paid it needs to be brought to a court of law.”

Faye estimated the most recent email from Telus had a balance owing of $700 to $800. And that’s not all she has to worry about.

“I actually at the moment I cannot have an account with CIBC or RBC,” Faye said. When she got her first job at 15, her father opened her a student account over which he had complete control.

“I didn’t see any of the money that I worked my butt off for,” Faye said. “He took it all and said it was his fee for rent.”

Faye said Sean repeatedly used overdraft in her account.

Sean Starkes in July 2019.

Image Credit: SUBMITTED/ Ray Keen

“He would go down to the bank machine after dark when they’re closed and he would take a cheque envelope, say it was for a certain amount, and withdraw whatever amount the account would allow him to,” she explained. The first time the bank found out, Sean paid off the $500. The rest, he left for his teenage daughter to deal with.

“The last time I heard, my RBC account it was about -$500, my other account it was somewhere near -$2,000 dollars.”

She has considered going to police before, but she’s got lots to deal with already. When she left home, she was completely on her own.

“I didn’t know where I was supposed to go, I didn’t know who to reach out to, to help me in something like this,” Faye said. “I had to get support from the Ministry to be able to live, otherwise I would’ve been on the streets.”

Faye has since aged out of the Ministry of Children and Family Development’s youth program and is not currently eligible for their adult program because she was unable to complete her high school diploma.

This was in part because of how often the family moved around. Faye recalls only ever attending the same school for half a year or less.

“I’d never have friends,” she said. “It was so hard to set down roots.”

From a young age, Faye was also tasked with adult responsibilities, making time for school work difficult. She recalled living with her father as unpredictable and stressful.

“My dad has always had a very, very bad temper,” Faye said. “It was terrifying honestly, one minute he’d be OK and fine, the next minute it was hide under the bed because he’s yelling and screaming.”

Faye said some of these mood swings might have been caused by withdrawal from Tylenol 3 with codeine, as her father was a long-time addict.

“If he went 6 to 8 hours without any, he was going through severe withdrawals, headaches, extreme mood swings,” said Faye, estimating her father regularly went through 180 pills every 1-2 weeks.

Now that she is living a more stable life away from midnight moves and crime, Faye is trying to set things right. She is currently enrolled in classes at an alternate school to earn her General Education Diploma.

“I am constantly working full time,” she said. “Having time to... go to school and attend classes is extremely difficult.”

However, she wants to see justice for all those her father has hurt over the years.

“If all it takes is for his own children to come forward… I’m willing to do it if it puts him behind bars," she said.  

Wyatt's younger brother in purple, age 7. Wyatt in blue, age 10. Their sister is pictured at bottom left. (Faces intentionally blurred)

Image Credit: SUBMITTED/Wyatt Andruchow

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