Appeal in $110M Ponzi scheme filed with highest court
Former Vancouver notary Rashida Samji has filed for leave to appeal to the Supreme Court of Canada in an effort to overturn a criminal conviction for operating an $110-million Ponzi scheme.
The high court is not expected to announce a decision on whether it will hear the case until mid-2018.
Samji’s counsel, Vancouver lawyer Richard Peck, has until the end of January to formally file arguments.
Based on an already-filed brief synopsis, the arguments are similar to those made at the B.C. Court of Appeal.
Robert Houston, an Ottawa lawyer and agent for the Crown in the case, said Samji is essentially arguing that because she had already been penalized by the B.C. Securities Commission she should not face a criminal conviction.
While the Supreme Court of Canada decides whether to hear the case, Samji will remain out on bail.
Earlier this month, the B.C. Court of Appeal dismissed Samji’s bid to throw out her criminal conviction for fraud that resulted in a six-year sentence.
Samji launched her appeal on the basis that she should not face jail time when she has already been fined $33 million by the B.C. Securities Commission.
In its decision, the Court of Appeal ruled that while the commission had issued a substantial administrative penalty, it was not punitive.
“It was a protective and preventive order designed to deter similar fraudulent conduct, not to denounce the appellant’s conduct or reflect her moral blameworthiness,” according to the appeal decision written by Justice Barbara Fisher and supported by Chief Justice Robert Bauman and Justice John Hunter.
The appeal court concluded that a stay under the Charter of Rights was not warranted either, as Samji had not answered to society at large for her conduct, and a stay “would likely cause the public to lose confidence in the integrity of the justice system.”
Samji’s case is a rare criminal conviction for investor fraud, according to a recent Postmedia investigation.
As few as eight police-investigated cases have landed fraudsters in jail in the past decade, according to a review of court records and news files.
In her criminal conviction, Samji, 64, was also ordered to pay restitution of more than $10 million to her victims.
The judge said aggravating factors included that the fraud exceeded millions, had the effect of potentially destabilizing capital markets, and involved a large number of victims, as many as 200.