Juggling With Other People’s Money

Misappropriation drew a license revocation by the Ontario Law Society Tribunal Hearing Division

Between August 2019 and January 2022, he misappropriated $7,978,002.37 from client trust funds in mortgage transactions.

Those funds were moved from the Lawyer’s trust account to his general and personal accounts for his own purposes. $1,508,400 went to gambling. Other funds were used for two mortgage payments on his residence, personal loan payments, car payments, and the operating expenses of his law practice.

From time to time, the Lawyer had to return sums to trust or juggle funds between accounts to meet obligations that he was not able to defer or avoid. This became increasingly difficult over time.

Respondent was arrested after he had voluntarily returned to Canada from India and Dubai.

Sanction

The misconduct before us engages what is known as the Bolton principle. This stands for the proposition that certain types of professional misconduct involving proven dishonesty, are so serious that they constitute a fundamental breach of the solicitor-client trust relationship and compel revocation of licence.

  Such misconduct includes mortgage fraud and misappropriation of trust funds. The latter is defined as “the knowing unauthorized use of client property by a lawyer or paralegal for their own purposes, on the basis that the knowledge that may be actual knowledge, willful blindness or recklessness.”

That would apply here. Absent extraordinary or exceptional circumstances no other sanction is available apart from revocation. We were informed that no exceptional circumstances exist in this case that would warrant any other disposition.

(Mike Frisch)