Affluent businessman found guilty of tax and forgery offences
A wealthy businessman has been found guilty of tax and forgery offences related to a home in West Vancouver’s tony British Properties neighbourhood.
Michael Curt Helmut Scholz was charged with three counts of committing tax-related offences and two criminal counts of uttering forged documents in connection with the property at 1071 Groveland Rd.
It was alleged that he gave the false documents to Canada Revenue Agency officials in order to obtain GST-HST rebates for which he wasn’t legally entitled.
His provincial court trial heard that in December 2009, he and his wife, Carolyn Scholz, decided to build her “dream house” on property that was vacant at the time. The home was to have seven bedrooms, six bathrooms, and a living area of more than 10,000 square feet. It was to feature a pool, gardens, a floating stairway, a media room, an outside pond, an indoor putting green, and a special wall for family portraits.
The couple’s plan was for the home to accommodate their blended family of multiple adult children and grandchildren.
In August 2009, Carolyn bought 100 per cent of the shares of a company that had title to the property and was controlled by real estate developer Ryan Beedie, the trial heard.
Although her husband, who owned and operated companies involved in the acquisition and management of commercial buildings and testified that his net worth was about $100 million in 2015, paid for the purchase, she became the beneficial owner of the property.
Scholz, who at one point managed Great Canadian Casinos, wanted the property in his wife’s name in order to keep the matrimonial home immune from any potential future creditors or claims from his ex-wife or his kids, according to his testimony.
He began to claim GST/ HST rebates as soon as the construction started.
But building costs ran exorbitantly over-budget, and Scholz claimed he decided to sell the house at that point.
However, he didn’t tell the builders of the home or hire a realtor.
The Crown’s theory was that Scholz provided forged documents to Canada Revenue Agency officials to claim ineligible tax credits and reduce taxes owed on the property.
Prosecutors said he claimed amounts in tax credits related to the property’s design and construction to which he was not entitled.
In his ruling on the case, provincial court Judge Paul Meyers concluded that Scholz was aware that he could only claim the tax credits if he was the property’s beneficial owner, and if the property was intended for resale.
He found that Scholz provided a forged trust agreement alleging his beneficial ownership of the property to mislead Canada Revenue Agency officials into allowing a refund to be issued to him, and a forged lease agreement to decrease the property’s assessed value.
Scholz will be sentenced at a later date.