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Offshore Alert Miami 2025 – An Update on Crypto Tracing and Recovery
For the past 15 years or so I have attended various Offshore Alert conferences. I recommend them. Those who attend are fraud and asset recovery lawyers, forensic accountants, trustees, private sector investigators and investigative journalists. The conferences are...
Practical Information For Fraud Victims
Coordinating Criminal and Civil Justice as a Means of Recovery for Fraud Victims
Is it reasonable for fraud victims to rely on police prosecutions and criminal restitution orders as a means to recovering their lost money? The short answer is no, although periodically partially recoveries do occur. This blog explains what fraud victims should...
Supreme Court of Canada Urges Access to Justice For Fraud Victims
In the past we have written on the Toronto Commercial Court’s promotion of ‘Hybrid Trials” as a legal mechanism which victims of fraud can access to seek a just, efficient and expeditious resolution to their claim – see “An Argument for Hybrid Trials for Victims of...
When Investing, Exercise Due Diligence To Avoid Ponzi Schemes
The Ponzi scheme was named after Charles Ponzi (1889-1949), a small time swindler who hit the big time when he invented a lucrative con in the 1920s that netted him more than $15M. Ponzi's con (confidence scheme) was simple. He operated an extremely attractive...
What You Should Consider if You Discover You Are a Victim of Fraud Our Views on “Triaging” Your Fraud Case
To discover a fraud is to discover a breach of trust. Whether the fraud relates to investment matters, employment scenarios, conduct between business associates, or other forms of relationships, the emotional effects resulting from fraud may be significant. It is...
‘Throwing Good Money After Bad’ – Considerations in Selecting Your Fraud Lawyer
Much has been written recently in legal publications of the spiralling cost of civil litigation – for example, reference “Skin in the Game” published in the 2013 issue of Canadian Lawyer InHouse by Jennifer Brown. This article discusses various litigation funding...
Should Fraud Victims Immediately Contact Police Upon Discovery of a Fraud?
A common reaction of those who discover they have become the victim of fraud is to confront the fraudster and/or to contact the police. At Investigation Counsel PC we recommend that fraud victims first review their cases with trusted advisors and then with fraud...
Legal Information For Fraud Victims
What Fraud Victims Should Know About Civil Liability for Criminal Fraud
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...
What Fraud Victims Should Know About Bankruptcy Discharge Hearings
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,...
What Fraud Victims Should Know about Breach of Trust in Land Transaction Scenarios
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...
What Fraud Victims Should Know About Recovery from Auditors
The Supreme Court of Canada Issues Judgment on the Livent Case In a judgment dated December 20, 2017, the Supreme Court of Canada (“SCC”) rendered its decision in Deloitte & Touche v. Livent Inc. (Receiver of), 2017 SCC 63, creating a new standard for recovery for...
What Fraud Victims Should Know About Recovery through Bankruptcy Proceedings
It is commonly recognized that there are options open to a bankruptcy trustee that are not available in the fraud recovery civil litigation process, such as the compelling of documents and examinations without court orders. There can be considerable cost savings in...
What Fraud Victims Should Know About Recovery against Those Who Resell Property Obtained by Fraud. Liability for Knowing Receipt by Proving Willful Blindness
On September 14, 2017, the Ontario Superior Court released its decision in Wescom v. Minetto, 2015 ONSC 5568.[1] This is an important decision for victims of fraud as it discusses the legal test a court will consider when deciding whether to permit a fraud victim to...