Law Times - Newsmakers

2014 top news, newsmakers, and cases 7 Meerai Cho makes headlines for $15M in lost condo deposits ToronTo Lawyer Meerai Cho made head- lines for all of the wrong reasons this year: the loss of up to $15 million in real estate deposits. Cho has said she transferred the deposits she had been holding in trust to the developer of an unfinished building due to her inexperience, but police and the property buyers believe otherwise. In September, police charged her with 75 charges related to fraud over $5,000, possession of property obtained by fraud, and breach of trust. At the time of pub- lication, she was awaiting her next court appearance on Dec. 4. The property buyers are also casting doubt on her assertions she transferred the money through an honest mistake. In a recent petition purporting to be on behalf of up to 100 victims, the buyers claim the deposit trust agreement noted: "The builder is not entitled to withdraw any fund from the trust." The petition also sug- gests Cho had been using an address at 60 St. Clair Ave. W. in Toronto that was next to the developer, Yo Sup (Joseph) Lee, who has since gone missing. The LSUC has, of course, suspended Cho's licence on an interlocutory basis. None of the allegations have been proven. In her response to the law society proceedings, Cho said she believed Lee was now in Korea and noted he first told her to transfer the deposit money to him because the purchasers had defaulted on their payments but he later said he needed the funds to complete the project. A new developer took over the proj- ect in October 2013. By then, Cho had transferred essentially all of the funds to Lee even though the project wasn't yet complete. Cho had received about $14.9 million in trust from purchasers of condo units in the Centrium condo- minium project in Toronto. Cho, who's 63 and graduated from law school at the age of 50, said she had never represented a builder before the Centrium project. The buyers are now demanding the law society compensate them from its com- pensation fund. By glenn KauTh top newsmakers Meerai Cho 2015 BENCHER ELECTION ÉLECTION DES MEMBRES DU CONSEIL Le Barreau du Haut-Canada est mandaté pour réglementer la profession juridique dans l'intérêt public. Les conseillers et les conseillères siègent en tant que membres du Conseil pour remplir ce mandat. La prochaine élection des membres du Conseil aura lieu le 30 avril 2015. La candidature des avocats intéressés doit être présentée par au moins cinq (5) avocats titulaires de permis. Les formulaires de candidature doivent être reçus par le Barreau à Osgoode Hall au plus tard à 17 h le 13 février 2015. Les critères d'admissibilité et des renseignements supplémentaires sont accessibles sur le site Web du Barreau. The Law Society of Upper Canada is mandated to govern the legal profession in the public interest. Benchers sit as members of Convocation to fulfill that mandate. The next bencher election will be held on April 30, 2015. Lawyers who wish to be candidates must be nominated by at least five (5) lawyer licensees. Nomination forms must be received by the Law Society at Osgoode Hall by 5:00 p.m. on February 13, 2015. Eligibility requirements and more information can be found on The Law Society of Upper Canada's website. www.lsuc.on.ca/election-conseillers-2015 www.lsuc.on.ca/bencher-election-2015 Untitled-4 1 2014-11-19 11:28 AM

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