The applicants, charged with fraud over $5,000 in relation to an alleged Ponzi scheme, brought a pre-trial motion seeking a stay of proceedings based on an abuse of process.
They argued that the charges were barred by issue estoppel due to a prior settlement with the Ontario Securities Commission, and alleged state misconduct including pre-charge delay and breaches of solicitor-client privilege.
The court dismissed the motion, finding that the OSC settlement explicitly excluded fraud, the pre-charge delay was justified by the complexity of the investigation, and the handling of potentially privileged documents did not prejudice the applicants' right to a fair trial.
Additionally, the court ruled that a forensic accountant retained by the police could not testify merely as a fact witness, but must be qualified as an expert witness at trial.