2022 BCSC 944
In a June 8, 2022 decision, The Honourable Justice A. Ross of the Supreme Court of British Columbia ordered the sale of a condominium located in Richmond, BC, after determining that the property was purchased with funds fraudulently obtained from Prima Technology, Inc. (“PTI”), by Mary Yang and her husband Samuel Zhu in 2007. The proceedings were a continuation of PTI’s attempts to recover the amounts awarded against Mary and Samuel, a total of over US $11 million including legal fees, interest and court costs.
Though the condominium property was registered to Mary Yang’s mother-in-law Yunyu Yang, PTI argued that the property was purchased through Mary’s financial contributions between 2010 and 2011. In response, Yunyu submitted that the funds used for the property were her own.
In review of the evidence, the Court concluded that while Yunyu legally owned the property, she was unable to prove the original source of her funds, inferring that the source was ultimately from Mary and therefore Mary beneficially owned the property. The Court declared that the property was to be held in a constructive trust for PTI, and consequently ordered for its sale to partially satisfy the penalties imposed against Mary.
Steven Evans (Commercial Litigation) successfully represented PTI in the proceedings.
