Reasonable Grounds For Believing
An interlocutory license suspension from the Hearing Division Tribunal of the Upper Canada Law Society of a paralegal license.
The evidence
The evidence discloses that Ms. Zopf has been criminally charged with one count of Identity Theft, two counts of Fraud Under $5,000, two counts of Obtaining Credit by Fraud, one count of Uttering Forged Documents, two counts of Identity Fraud and one count of Possession of a Counterfeit Mark.
These criminal charges relate to two incidents, one in September 2015 and one in June 2017. It is alleged that in September 2015, Ms. Zopf obtained a payday loan of $400 by falsely holding herself out to be someone else and by tendering identity and other documents. It is alleged that in June 2017, Ms. Zopf attempted to open a Bell Canada account for landline, internet and television services using a false identity.
The investigator’s affidavit includes evidence tending to prove the alleged criminal conduct. The criminal charges allege conduct that is outside of Ms. Zopf’s work as a paralegal and is instead personal conduct. However, the alleged criminal conduct raises significant issues of honesty and integrity.
It is not necessary or appropriate that we determine whether Ms. Zopf acted as is alleged in the outstanding criminal proceedings nor are we to determine whether those actions, if proven, would be professional misconduct.
Our responsibility is to determine whether there are “reasonable grounds for believing” that there is a “significant risk of harm” to members of the public, or to the public interest in the administration of justice, if the suspension order is not made and that making the suspension order is likely to reduce the risk.
The affidavit evidence provides reasonable grounds for believing that Ms. Zopf may have acted as is alleged in the outstanding criminal proceedings. This evidence is not challenged for the purposes of this motion nor is there any evidence to the contrary. Of course, this is not to say that Ms. Zopf will be found guilty of those charges, but that is not the question here.
(Mike Frisch)