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By: Investigation Counsel PC

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Norman Groot

Latest from Investigation Counsel

This blog summarizes a recently published decision from the Ontario Court of Appeal which somewhat clarifies the where the line is drawn between a lawyer’s fair and zealous advocacy for their client and their liability for civil fraud for deceiving the Court and opposing counsel with false statements. In our fraud recovery litigation, from time to time, we encounter lawyers for alleged fraudsters who make positive statements on behalf of their clients with the intention…
At Investigation Counsel PC, we are often asked by victims of fraud for advice with respect to negotiating settlements in fraud actions. To state the obvious, fraud victims often have a well-founded skepticism that the defendant they settled with cannot be trusted to fulfill their settlement obligations honourably. In 2018 we acted as counsel for Kuwait investors who lost $1.8M to a British Columbia based business associate. At the eve of trial, a $2.7M settlement…
On September 6, 2018, the Alberta Court of Queen’s Bench released its decision in TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. v Ghebrezghi, 2018 ABQB 646 (“Ghebrezghi”). This case was highly relevant to one of our cases due to the similar factual matrix. In Ghebrezghi, the investor rolled the dice in a trial against TD Waterhouse and had his entire case dismissed with costs to be ordered against him.  In our case, the investor took a more conservative…
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On June 11, 2018, the Ontario Superior Court of Justice in Kitchener released its decision in the criminal sentencing of investment advisor Daniel Reeve: R. v. Reeve, 2018 ONSC 3744. The Court handed out the first maximum sentence for fraud in Canadian history since the legislative changes in 2004 that increased the maximum jail sentence to 14 years. What follows in this article are direct quotes from the trial and sentencing decisions. The statements themselves…
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Can a Complaint to the OSC Prohibit a Criminal Prosecution? On May 29, 2018, the Ontario Superior Court of Justice released its decision in R. v. Vuong and Quach, 2018 ONSC 3348. This case is helpful to fraud victims in terms of the information it provides about the interplay between police (criminal) and regulatory (securities commission) investigations, the appropriate body to which to make a complaint, and when this should be done. At the end…
Liability of Agents in Loan Transactions In cases where fraud is not alleged and where only breach of contract is asserted, whether a transaction is characterized as a loan or an investment can be critical to whether judgment will be issued. If a transaction is viewed as an investment where the investor took on the risk, there may be no cause of action. If the transaction is viewed as a loan, the lender may have…
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May 29, 2018 – Cosimo “Cosmo” Polidoro1861 Una RoadPickering, OntarioDate of Birth: February 12, 1962  On May 15, 2018, Cosimo “Cosmo” Polidoro was found liable by the Ontario Superior Court of Justice in Toronto of contempt of court. The sentencing of Mr. Polidoro is to take place on July 16, 2018, at 361 University Avenue, Toronto. The contempt of court proceedings against Mr. Polidoro were commenced due to the failure of Mr. Polidoro to account…
On March 7, 2018, Justice Dunphy of the Superior Court of Justice, Commercial List, in Toronto, issued his judgment in the case of Atlas Copco Canada Inc. v. David Hillier, 2018 ONSC 1588. In this case, the plaintiff Atlas Copco Canada Inc. had brought a motion for summary judgment against one of the defendants – Mr. Plate – for fraud, breach of fiduciary duty and conspiracy. The Court dismissed Atlas Copco’s civil fraud claim, even…
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We are often asked by fraud victims – what happens to their judgment if the defendant assigns him or herself into bankruptcy? Does the bankruptcy assignment wipe away the debt? The answer is generally “no” when the claim was pleaded as a fraud and/or breach of trust, where a declaration is pleaded that the judgment survives bankruptcy, and where a Court makes a finding of fraud and/or breach of trust. That said, in some cases…
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We are often asked by fraud victims for recovery information with respect to breaches of trust related to land transactions. We recently recovered $2.+M for victims of fraud in a land transaction where the initial investment was $1.+M. This recovery was obtained by way of a settlement on the evening before a four week trial was scheduled to commence. While our case involved a settlement, the facts were somewhat similar to the recent decision of…