B.C. couple can't use bankruptcy to get out of paying $19M to regulator, appeal court rules
For the second time in a year, British Columbia's highest court has dismissed an appeal from a couple attempting to use bankruptcy to rid themselves of millions of dollars in penalties imposed by the province's financial markets regulator.
Thalbinder Singh Poonian and Shailu Poonian owe the B.C. Securities Commission a combined $19 million for market manipulation that a panel of the commission found them to have committed.
The total includes $13.5 million in administrative penalties and $5.5 million in "disgorgement of their ill-gotten gains," according to a statement from the BCSC.
In November, the B.C. Court of Appeal dismissed an appeal from the couple in which they argued that the master who handled their application for discharge from bankruptcy had erred in various ways when deciding not to release them from their BCSC debt.
That appeal was dismissed, with the trio of appeal judges agreeing there was "no merit in any of the grounds of appeal identified by the appellants."
The couple brought their most recent appeal against an order from the B.C. Supreme Court that declared their BCSC debts could not be released through the bankruptcy process.
In a decision issued earlier this month, the appeal court again rejected the couple's arguments.
This time, the Poonians argued that the supreme court judge had erred in relying on an Alberta court decision that was later reversed by that province's appeal court.
While the B.C. appeal judges did find that the supreme court judge had erred in this regard, they concluded that the lower court's decision was still correct. The couple's debts "arise from obtaining property or services by false pretenses or fraudulent misrepresentation," and are therefore valid exceptions to the list of debts that can be discharged through bankruptcy, the appeal judges wrote in their decision.
The BCSC sanctioned the Poonians in 2015 for manipulating the share price of OSE Corp., an Ontario company listed on the TSX Venture Exchange. The market manipulation occurred between 2007 and 2009.
"The panel concluded that the Poonians inflated the share price through trading among themselves, relatives, friends and acquaintances, and then illegally obtained approximately $7 million by selling OSE shares to unsuspecting buyers," the BCSC said in its statement.
So far, the Poonians have not paid any portion of the $19 million they owe the BCSC. Any part of the $5.5 million disgorgement that is recovered will be returned to investors, the commission said.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Several flight attendants from Pakistan have gone missing after landing in Canada
Multiple flight attendants from Pakistan International Airlines have abandoned their jobs and are believed to have sought asylum in Canada in the past year and a half, a spokesperson for the government-owned airline says.
BREAKING Ottawa public school board, 3 Toronto-area school boards launch lawsuit against social media giants
The Ottawa-Carleton District School Board and three school boards in the Toronto-area have launched legal action against social media giants, accusing them of "disrupting students' fundamental right to education."
Rainfall warnings of up to 90 mm among weather alerts in effect for 7 provinces
Rainfall warnings of up to 90 millimetres, air quality advisories and other alerts have been issued for seven Canadian provinces, according to the latest forecasts.
Tipping is off the table at this Toronto restaurant
A Toronto restaurant introduced a surprising new rule that reduced the cost of a meal and raised the salaries of staff.
A Nigerian woman reviewed some tomato puree online. Now she faces jail
A Nigerian woman who wrote an online review of a can of tomato puree is facing imprisonment after its manufacturer accused her of making a “malicious allegation” that damaged its business.
Donald Trump assails judge and his daughter after gag order in N.Y. hush-money criminal case
Donald Trump lashed out Wednesday at the New York judge who put him under a gag order that bars him from commenting publicly about witnesses, prosecutors, court staff and jurors in his upcoming hush-money criminal trial.
A fight to protect the dignity of Michelangelo's David raises questions about freedom of expression
Michelangelo's David has been a towering figure in Italian culture since its completion in 1504. But in the current era of the quick buck, curators worry the marble statue's religious and political significance is being diminished.
Doctors visiting a Gaza hospital are stunned by the war's toll on Palestinian children
An international team of doctors visiting a hospital in central Gaza was prepared for the worst. But the gruesome impact Israel’s war against Hamas is having on Palestinian children still left them stunned.
What new auto insurance reforms will mean for Ontarians, if they get introduced
Ontario has among the highest rates for auto insurance premiums in Canada -- just below Alberta and Nova Scotia -- however, the introduction of an insurance reform in the provincial budget could soon lower prices.