Investigation Counsel’s Blog
In our effort to educate and assist victims of fraud we have complied our blog posts in to two sections Practical Information for Fraud Victims About Fraud Recovery and Legal Information for Fraud Victims.
Legal Information For Fraud Victims:
A 2020 Judicial Decision on Relationship Fraud
On November 16, 2020, Justice Eileen Adair of the Superior Court of British Columbia published a 75-page, 548-paragraph judgment in the relationship fraud case Huang v. Li, 2020 BCSC 1727. The trial started in May 2019. It carried on for 47 days intermittently until...
What Fraud Victims Should Know About Recovery from Defrocked Investment Advisors
At our firm, we have handled cases and have ongoing cases wherein the allegations of fraud, breach of fiduciary duty and / or negligence were made or have been made against investment advisors who were registered with a professional body such as the OSC, MFDA or IRROC...
What Fraud Victims Should Know about Fraudulent Conveyance Claims
A victim of fraud should be aware of conveyances of property made by those they intend to sue or have sued as often the primary target of their fraud recovery litigation will not have any assets in their name by the time a judgment is rendered. This blog provides some...
Coordinating Criminal and Civil Justice as a Means of Recovery for Fraud Victims – Part II
Back in March 2014, we published a blog post titled Coordinating Criminal and Civil Justice as a Means of Recovery for Fraud Victims. In May 2015, our post was republished by the Association of Certified Forensic Investigators of Canada (“ACFI”). The blog post was...
Why The Criminal Process is Secondary in Fraud Recovery – Part III Lenient Sentencing where No Restitution or Cooperation
In our prior blog post, Why the Criminal Process is Secondary in Fraud Recovery – Part I – Criminal Search Rights Override Victim Recovery Rights, we summarized the recently released case of R. v. TM, 2019 ONSC 2408, published by the Ontario Courts. The bottom line of...
When Lawyer Misstatements Amounts to Civil Fraud
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...
WHAT FRAUD VICTIMS SHOULD KNOW ABOUT THE TAX CONSEQUENCES ON SETTLEMENTS IN FRAUD ACTIONS
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...
What Investors Should Know About Negligence Claims Against Financial Institutions
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...
Practical Information For Fraud Victims:
2021 Update: Why the Criminal Process is Secondary in Fraud Recovery –Part II: Criminal Funding Rights Override Victim Mareva Recovery Rights
In August 2019, we published a blog entitled Why the Criminal Process is Secondary in Fraud Recovery – Part II: Criminal Funding Rights Override Victim Mareva Recovery Rights.[1] The recent Madan Family Fraud case by the Ontario government, released on December 24,...
Mareva (Asset Freezing) Injunctions in Toronto in the COVID-19 Era
At the commencement of the COVID-19 era, the Courts in Ontario (and elsewhere) declared that they were shutting down other than for the hearing of urgent cases. What constitutes an urgent case with respect to fraud cases was not precisely defined. The Ontario Courts...
What Fraud Victims Should Know About the Civil Remedies Act
At Investigation Counsel, we receive inquiries from fraud victims, often through the internet, requesting information on alternatives to traditional civil recovery due to the cost of private litigation. One such request was for information as to whether recoveries are...
Why The Criminal Process is Secondary in Fraud Recovery – Part II Criminal Funding Rights Override Victim Mareva Recovery Rights
In our prior blog, Why the Criminal Process is Secondary in Fraud Recovery – Part I – Criminal Search Rights Override Victim Recovery Rights, we summarized the recently released case of R. v. TM, 2019 ONSC 2408, published by the Ontario Courts. The bottom line of...
Why The Criminal Process is Secondary in Fraud Recovery – Part I Criminal Search Rights Override Victim Recovery Rights
This blog summarizes a recently published decision from the Ontario Superior Court of Justice, R. v. TM, 2019 ONSC 2408, which once again demonstrates why fraud victims are, in most cases, well advised to withhold making a criminal case in fraud cases at least until...
Press Release Re. Cosimo “Cosmo” Polidoro
May 29, 2018 - Cosimo “Cosmo” Polidoro 1861 Una Road Pickering, Ontario Date 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...
What Fraud Victims Should Know About Notice and Demand Letters
Giving a Rogue Notice of a Criminal Complaint is Not Extortion On November 9, 2017, I co-chaired a panel at a Law Society of Upper Canada Continuing Legal Education Conference on Fraud Recovery Law. The panel members were Justice Todd Archibald, criminal defence...
What Fraud Victims Should Know About Claims for Emotional Distress
Fraud and Sex Do Not Amount to Damages for Emotional Distress We are often asked by fraud victims if they can recover by way of a judgment for damages for the emotional distress they experience as a result of the fraud perpetrated on them. Many fraud victims...