LILLEY: Government seized millions from man who never faced a charged

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When most of us consider governments seizing private property beneath proceeds of crime legal guidelines, we consider the yachts and mansions of convicted drug lords. What about having your financial institution accounts frozen and houses and automobiles seized whenever you’ve by no means been charged with against the law?

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That’s what occurred to Vancouver businessman Kevin Hobbs, and he’s nonetheless combating to get all of his property again. The saga began for Hobbs within the fall of 2019 when the British Columbia Civil Forfeiture Workplace seized a $4 million Coal Harbour rental, two luxurious automobiles and greater than $1 million in money.

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Shortly after that occurred, the Ontario authorities seized a Bay St. rental value $3.6 million.

The declare from each governments is that Hobbs and his now former enterprise companion had been concerned in fraudulently promoting cryptocurrency. Regardless of the allegations, nobody has been criminally charged with fraud, sanctioned by a securities fee or confronted some other authorized sanction – they only had their property seized.

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Hobbs, and his former enterprise companion, have settled with the B.C. Civil Forfeiture Workplace. An settlement signed in Might noticed the B.C. authorities “put aside” their case and even say that there was no “discovering of legal responsibility.”

But the worth was nonetheless steep.

The federal government saved 60% of the money seized and 60% of the money worth of the rental. The 2 automobiles had been returned to Hobbs, whereas the remaining money and worth of the rental was cut up between him and his enterprise companion.

He was by no means charged, by no means went to trial, didn’t even get a parking ticket however needed to give up hundreds of thousands to the federal government.

“It wasn’t a simple resolution,” he stated in a current interview.

In the long run, he stated, it got here all the way down to a enterprise resolution to take one thing slightly than hold combating. The method was already approaching three years ad infinitum.

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“They type of pressure you into submission,” Hobbs stated.

He’s had a tough couple of years, shedding his enterprise and livelihood, and seeing different good individuals get harm.

“My status took a beating, my firm was destroyed, the 40-plus individuals who labored for me had been harmed,” he stated. “We misplaced purchasers the minute it hit the papers.”

Now, away from his troubles in B.C., Hobbs is attempting to finish the continued state of affairs in Ontario – the place he has additionally by no means been charged – and calling for reform of those legal guidelines.

“There must be higher checks and balances on how they’ll even begin a continuing. There must be proof, deciding on the stability of possibilities is unfair,” Hobbs stated.

The legal guidelines on civil forfeiture in each Ontario and B.C. use a unique normal of proof than legal courts. Quite than deciding if somebody is responsible past an inexpensive doubt, circumstances are decided on whether or not somebody is responsible on the “stability of possibilities.”

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It’s a a lot decrease normal.

Individuals can be taken by means of this method and have property seized even when they’ve been acquitted of the identical accusations in a legal court docket. Lawyer Joanna Baron, govt director of the Canadian Structure Basis, stated these legal guidelines and their decrease normal of proof are “constitutionally doubtful.”

“Canada’s civil forfeiture legal guidelines had been meant to discourage crime and compensate victims. They’ve grossly expanded to financially profit governments and regulation enforcement,” Baron stated.

Hobbs believes it’s too straightforward to make false allegations this present day; it’s what he stated began his ordeal, and believes there must be modifications for these legal guidelines.

“It’s an absolute atrocity that now we have laws like this in Canada,” Hobbs stated.

He desires modifications to the requirements of proof utilized in forfeiture circumstances and a remediation course of, as properly.

“There must be a course of to make somebody complete,’ Hobbs stated. “I nonetheless have my status to restore.”