Yesterday the Ontario Court of Appeal dismissed Toronto corporate lawyer, Remy Boghossian’s appeal from his 2015 conviction for an almost $2 million dollar fraud on the Royal Bank of Canada. (R. v. Boghossian, 2017 ONCA 870 CanLII)
The scam involved Mr. Boghossian and two co-accused acquiring a forged TD Canada Trust bank draft for $1,895,751 in February 2011 from an unidentified bank insider at the Mississauga branch of the TD bank. The funds were then deposited into Mr. Boghossian’s trust account, whereafter he purchased, in two separate transactions, Australian-minted gold bullion from a company in Montreal.
Mr. Boghossian’s lawyer argued that his client purchased the gold on behalf of a client, Omar Ali, who was a real estate developer going through a divorce who wanted to hide the money from his wife. He asserted that his client was a victim of the scam and had been duped into participating. The trial judge found that Mr. Ali did not exist and was created to advance the fraud. He held that a strong circumstantial case had been established and that the three accused acted together to knowingly defraud the Royal Bank by presenting a forged TD bank draft.
The court heard that Boghossian’s two accomplices tried to sell some of the gold bars, but a wary gold dealer recognized the “kangaroo” logo on the bars and contacted the police.
What remains a mystery is who the insider at the TD Bank is and where the gold bars are now. Media reports indicate that the police have discontinued their investigation of these two matters.
Mr. Boghossian also appealed his 3 1/2 year sentence, arguing that as his co-accused only received 3 years each, his sentence should be reduced to three years. The Court of Appeal dismissed the sentence appeal saying:
“In our view, the extra six months awarded the appellant does not raise parity concerns. The appellant was a lawyer. His status as a lawyer and the role his status as a lawyer played in the commission of the offence justified treating this as an aggravating factor, warranting a somewhat higher sentence for the appellant. We see no error in the sentence imposed.”
It is expected that the Law Society of Ontario will disbar Mr. Boghossian.
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Lawdiva's Blog 
How have they been investigated? Our family has tried for 4 and a half years to have local lawyers charged with fraud and the police and LSUC refuse to investigate. They have another word for fraud it is called bad book keeping in Windsor Ontario! We will send evidence to anyone who questions this. Our family is destroyed and nothing left for our kids with what use to be a million in assets shortly before death. I tried bringing evidence into justice of peace and our local fraud investigator who had evidence for a year and refuse to file charges arrested me 3 days before I could get evidence into justice of peace. Been under house arrest for over 2 and a half years now with no previous trouble with law and always been proud and active member of community. 14 lawyers have been involved and all kept me obstructed from family accounts as an executor. Found 2 /3s of missing 400 000.00 the many lawyers over looked with still more missing. Is this really happening in Ontario?
Our family is desperate for public support and assistance. We cannot afford another dozen lawyers to take their legal fees then tell us they will not help with accounts!
Sincerely, the Simetic family Dave 519 562 3652
Reblogged this on Legal Career Center.
why fraud is increasing day by day? god ..
Our family needs immediate help as we have several lawyers busted on fraud regarding family estate. Local police and the law society have turned a blinds eye to it. Please our family is desperate as the local legal mafia is threatening to take our house now if we do not sign a release to remove accountability for the Windsor police and Law Society! Dave Simetic 519 562 3652
This is a very interesting and shocking article on the fraud case involving a Toronto corporate lawyer and his co-accused. I can’t believe that they used a forged bank draft to buy gold bullion and tried to sell it. I also wonder who the insider at the TD Bank is and what happened to the gold bars. I think the Court of Appeal was right to dismiss the appeal and uphold the sentence, as the lawyer’s status and role should be considered as an aggravating factor. I hope the Law Society of Ontario will take appropriate action against him.
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