An Indian-origin lawyer in Canada has allegedly disappeared with 3.5 million dollars, which she acquired from her clients and fled to India, according to a law tribunal here.
Real estate lawyer Rita Grewal abandoned her office, her home and her clients in July, allegedly fleeing to India as a millionaire, the Law Society ruling said.
She has not been heard from since. In a Law Society tribunal hearing last month her licence was suspended to "protect the public," the Star reported yesterday.
The law society filed a motion to the tribunal for Grewal's licence to be suspended on October 3, claiming it had reasonable grounds to believe she was involved in a "dishonest and fraudulent scheme" to swindle mortgage funds from her clients, the report said.
Grewal "mishandled, misapplied or misappropriated millions of dollars," abandoned her law practice, failed to serve clients to the standard of a competent lawyer and was not cooperating with the law society's investigation, according to the motion.
In the tribunal's ruling, chairman David Wright wrote that the evidence showed Grewal "may well have had a plan to steal clients' money and then leave the country." the report added.
Since her disappearance, the law society has received 11 complaints from clients who claim they gave Grewal money to pay out existing mortgages, but she never did.
"Despite the fact that over USD 3.5 million of clients' money is missing, the bank froze the lawyer's trust account with less than USD 100,000 remaining in it," the ruling said.
Activity on Grewal's credit card suggests she is now in India, according to the ruling said, the report said.
In addition to suspending Grewal's licence, the tribunal ordered her to pay 10,000 to the law society to cover its legal costs.
Grewal, who had previously worked as a lawyer in India, moved to Canada in 2005. Three years later, she took up a job as a legal assistant at Carranza LLP, Toronto's largest ethnic personal injury law firm, the report added.
