We have often cautioned fraud victims against relying on Canada’s criminal justice system to obtain a recovery. See our blog post What Fraud Victims Should Know About Problems with Criminal Restitution Orders In July 2016, the Supreme Court of Canada placed another big limitation on the ability of fraud victims to obtain justice through the Canadian criminal justice system with the release of the decision of R. v. Jordan; see: …Read More

An Update on Fraud Recovery through the Criminal Process On September 13, 2016, the Ontario Court of Appeal released its decision in R. v. Angelis, 2016 ONCA 675. The decision provides clarity for fraud victims who hope to obtain a recovery through the criminal justice system’s forfeiture of proceeds of crime provisions.  This blog is Part II on our publication: What Fraud Victims Should Know About Criminal Forfeiture Orders. We …Read More

An Update on Fraud Recovery through the Criminal Process On September 13, 2016, the Ontario Court of Appeal released its decision in R. v. Angelis, 2016 ONCA 675. The decision provides clarity for fraud victims who hope to obtain a recovery through the criminal justice system’s forfeiture of proceeds of crime provisions.   What Happened to Angelis? The trial judge imposed a sentence that included a term of imprisonment of …Read More

On July 14, 2016, the Ontario Securities Commission’s Office of the Whistleblower issued a press release entitled OSC Launches Office of the Whistleblower. This new whistleblower program has been reported with some fanfare in the business press – see OSC Will Now Pay Up to $5M for Tips as First In Canada to Offer Whistleblower Rewards:  http://business.financialpost.com/news/fp-street/ontario-securities-commission-will-now-pay-up-to-5-million-for-tips-as-first-in-canada-to-offer-whistleblower-rewards   The actual OSC press release of July 14, 2016, stated:   The …Read More

At Investigation Counsel, we are often asked by fraud victims whether they can ask a Court for damages greater than their initial loss of capital investment or the amount taken by employee theft. We generally recommend to clients that if they can move for default or summary judgment they should first seek only the initial investment or theft loss, as the analysis required for that amount is relatively straightforward, and …Read More

The Toronto Star published a story yesterday titled “US Prosecutors Say They’ve Shut Down a Psychic Mail Fraud Scheme Tied to Canada”.[1]  It states that Canadians were targeted in a psychic direct mail scheme it alleges scammed at least one million Americans out of more than $180 million. The U.S. Attorney’s Office said they all sent small sums of money for services and products, which included a “mysterious talisman with the power …Read More

Victims of fraud often ask us whether a fraudster can be ordered by a Canadian Court to account for what the fraudster did with their money so that they may attempt to recover it from those who received it. Other times, victims of fraud just want an explanation.   Last week an Ontario Court released its decision in 2363523 Ontario Inc. v. Nowack, 2016 ONSC 2518. This case involved a …Read More

Victims of fraud often ask us whether they should proceed by way of their own private action, a group action or a class action. The issue often comes down to a question of economics (both for the fraud victims and the law firm being asked to represent them) and litigation strategy. This blog post provides some basic information on the alternatives open to fraud victims who incurred a loss where …Read More

Some fraud victims we deal with inquire as to whether it is worth attempting a recovery from a fraudster who advises that he or she gave all of the money away to others, such as to charity or the poor. Some fraudsters have even dubbed their conduct as that of a present day “Robin Hood” – committing fraud to right a social wrong and not for personal gain. The Courts …Read More