Gary Timm

The plaintiff employer brought a motion for summary judgment against a former employee and his related companies for damages arising from a false invoicing scheme.

The employee had secretly incorporated a company to act as a middleman, replacing invoices from Chinese suppliers with marked-up invoices directing payment to his company's bank account.

The court granted summary judgment, finding the employee, his wife, and their company liable for civil fraud.

The court awarded compensatory damages of $864,238.75 USD, special damages for investigation costs, and $25,000 in punitive damages against the employee.

The defendants brought a motion to set aside ex parte Anton Piller and Mareva orders obtained by the plaintiff employer in an action for fraud.

The plaintiff alleged that its former employee and his wife used a shell company to secretly mark up the prices of electronic components purchased from Chinese suppliers.

The court dismissed the motion, finding that the plaintiff had made full and fair disclosure of material facts when obtaining the orders.

The court also held that the evidence justified the continuation of both orders, as there was a strong prima facie case of fraud, a risk of destruction of evidence, and a risk of dissipation of assets.