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David Raymond Amos @DavidRayAmos
Replying to @alllibertynews and 49 others
Methinks all the crooked lawyers in New Brunswick are surprised to see the former deputy attorney general finally arrested and charged for his crimes They could be next N'esy Pas?
https://davidraymondamos3.blogspot.com/2020/08/warrant-issued-for-runaway-disbarred.html
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/nb-yassin-choukri-custody-1.5701745
Former N.B. justice official Yassin Choukri arrested in Ontario on fraud charges
53-year-old disbarred lawyer is in the custody of the Peel regional police
· CBC News · Posted: Aug 27, 2020 9:14 AM AT
Disbarred New Brunswick lawyer Yassin Choukri, 53, is facing eight charges of fraud. (Fredericton Police Force)
Former deputy
attorney general Yassin Choukri was arrested by police in Ontario on
Wednesday, 12 days after a Canada-wide warrant was issued for his arrest
on fraud charges.
Choukri's last known address is in the Greater Toronto Area.
Choukri was disbarred by the Law Society of New Brunswick in 2017 after a discipline hearing determined he had misappropriated more than $720,000 from 10 former clients over several years.
The law society handed its evidence over to the Fredericton police in late 2017.
Choukri is
in the custody of Peel regional police, Alycia Bartlett, a spokesperson
for the Fredericton police, said Thursday morning.
"Plans
are currently being made to return Mr. Choukri to New Brunswick to
answer to the fraud charges and continue with court proceedings," she
said in a statement.
In
an earlier release Bartlett said Choukri had turned himself in but
later clarified he had been arrested by the Peel regional police.
She added more information will be available later.
A warrant was issued earlier this month
for the disbarred Fredericton lawyer, who is charged with eight counts
of fraud for allegedly misappropriating more than $700,000 from clients
before he disappeared from New Brunswick several years ago.
Choukri,
53, has been charged with seven counts of indictable fraud over $5,000,
and one count of indictable fraud under $5,000.
Choukri was disbarred by the Law Society of New Brunswick in 2017 after a discipline hearing determined he had misappropriated more than $720,000 from 10 former clients over several years.
The law society handed its evidence over to the Fredericton police in late 2017.
With files from Bobbi-Jean MacKinnon
CBC's Journalistic Standards and Practiceshttps://twitter.com/DavidRayAmos/with_replies
David Raymond Amos @DavidRayAmos
Replying to @alllibertynews and 49 others
https://davidraymondamos3.blogspot.com/2020/08/warrant-issued-for-runaway-disbarred.html
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/yassin-choukri-warrant-fraud-fredericton-police-lawyer-1.5686797
Warrant issued for runaway, disbarred Fredericton lawyer charged with 8 counts of fraud
Yassin Choukri, 53, is accused of misappropriating more than $700,000 from clients
· CBC News · Posted: Aug 14, 2020 3:14 PM AT
The last known address for Yassin Choukri, 53, was in the Greater Toronto area, said Federicton police. (Fredericton Police Force)
A Canada-wide warrant has been issued for a former deputy attorney general and disbarred Fredericton lawyer charged with eight counts of fraud for allegedly misappropriating more than $700,000 from clients before he disappeared from the province several years ago.
The Fredericton Police Force is looking to locate Yassin Choukri, 53, for seven counts of indictable fraud over $5,000, and one count of indictable fraud under $5,000, spokesperson Alycia Bartlett said Friday.
Choukri's last known address is in the Greater Toronto area, she said.
Choukri was disbarred by the Law Society of New Brunswick in 2017 after a discipline hearing determined he had misappropriated more than $720,000 from 10 former clients over several years.
The law society handed its evidence over to the Fredericton police in late 2017. Earlier this year, executive director Marc Richard had called on police to "move" on the file. "Enough is enough," he had said.
"The public needs to have confidence that those who break the law and get caught will pay for it, especially when it comes to repeated thefts committed by someone in a position of trust," he said.
"I mean, our role here in the law society is to uphold and protect the public interest in the administration of justice."
Marc Richard, executive director of the Law Society of New Brunswick, said he expects Choukri will eventually be found and have to face the charges. (Ed Hunter/CBC)
The charges were laid Friday, after being approved by the Crown, said Bartlett.
New Brunswick is one of only a handful of jurisdictions in Canada where criminal charges must be pre-approved by a Crown prosecutor before being laid in court.
Bartlett described the investigation as "significant." It dates back to December 2016, when police received two complaints, she said.
In 2018, investigators had to seek some support in forensic accounting, including experts in financial analysis and forensic accounting management.
"Through their audit, we got enough information to be able to get production orders for financial information. And since we have received all of the final reports into those components of the investigation, we did end up with enough information to get the charges approved by the Crown."
The investigation took a "significant" amount of time and resources, Bartlett said, but she could not immediately provide an estimate.
Largest in decades
The law society's disciplinary hearing found some of Choukri's clients never received money they won in settlements.Because Choukri did not attend the 2017 hearing to respond to the charges, under the law society's rules he was deemed to have admitted to them.
It was the largest misappropriation of funds by a member in decades, the organization said.
Some of Choukri's clients were repaid through the law society's compensation fund, which comes out of the pockets of every lawyer in New Brunswick. That cost the law society $231,149.53.
The society also spent more than $121,000 to hire a custodian to oversee all of Choukri's files, plus another $43,000 to investigate the case.
In Mississauga in 2017
Choukri served as the deputy chief of staff for former premier Bernard Lord, his former law partner.He was appointed deputy attorney general and deputy minister of justice in 2003, but left government after the Progressive Conservatives lost the 2006 election.
In 2010, the Alward government appointed him the public intervener for hearings before the Energy and Utilities Board.
He abandoned his legal practice and disappeared in 2016.
In the summer of 2017, the law society had tracked him down at an apartment in Mississauga, Ont., and served him with two notices.
Anyone with information on the whereabouts of Choukri is asked to contact Det. Matt LeBlanc at 506-460-2300 or matthew.leblanc@fredericton.ca.
With files from Connell Smith
19 Comments
Commenting is now closed for this story.David Amos
Yea Right
"On Friday, Richard said police "deserve credit for working hard on the file" and proceeding with charges.
"The public needs to have confidence that those who break the law and get caught will pay for it, especially when it comes to repeated thefts committed by someone in a position of trust," he said.
"I mean, our role here in the law society is to uphold and protect the public interest in the administration of justice."
jimmy vee
Seems justice moves slowly for those in the industry too.
David Amos
Reply to @jimmy vee: Methinks thats an irrefutable fact N'esy Pas?
Allan J Whitney
Some people have immunity. "Misappropriated", eh?
Check the casinos.
David Amos
Reply to @Allan J Whitney: Well put
Paul Krumm
Any self-governing profession is, almost by definition, corrupt.
Jos Allaire
Reply to @Paul
Krumm:, The Law Society has given the file to the Fredericton police
and disbarred Choukri years ago. Tell it to the City police!
David Amos
Reply to @Paul Krumm:
Methinks legions of lawyers on both sides of the 49th know I made it my
business to prove that was a fact long before I ran in the election of
the the 38th Parliament When got letters that year from Yassin
Choukri's boss, Marc Richard's underling and several other notable
people it forever proved what I just stated is true and i published the
facts on the Internet immediately N'esy Pas?
Bob Smith
I've read about folks stealing food or trivial stuff being pursued much harder by the legal system than this former lawyer with many connections. Hmmmm...
Joseph Godin
Reply to @Bob Smith: Many political connections. Honesty for either profession is not required.
Jos Allaire
Reply to @Joseph Godin: even less for most trades.
David Amos
Reply to @Jos Allaire: Nay not so
Methinks you can hold your plumber and electrician accountable byway of a lawyer but no lawyer will hold your lawyer accountable when he snookers you N'esy Pas?
Methinks you can hold your plumber and electrician accountable byway of a lawyer but no lawyer will hold your lawyer accountable when he snookers you N'esy Pas?
David Amos
Reply to @Joseph Godin: Oh So True
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