United States of America v. Smith

United States of America v. Smith

The certified record of the case contained admissible and sufficiently reliable evidence that, if occurring in Canada, would justify committal for trial for fraud under s.380 Criminal Code (including evidence of deceptive conduct, sham transactions and unreported income); the IRS is appropriately treated as the government victim and the extradition judge need not decide foreign law or defenses at this stage; accordingly Smith is committed to custody to await surrender.

Citation
2017 BCSC 1764
Parties
Requesting State: The Attorney General of Canada on behalf of the United States of America; Person Sought: David L. Smith
Court
Supreme Court of British Columbia
Jurisdiction
Canada
Judgment Date
14 August 2017
Procedural Posture
Extradition / Committal Hearing Following Authority to Proceed (atp) Issued; Oral Reasons and Committal Order
Outcome
Committed to custody to await surrender
Legal Topics
Fraud, Double Criminality, Sufficiency of Evidence, Certification of Record of the Case, Hearsay Admissibility
Source Language
English
Extradition Criminal Law Tax Law Fraud Double Criminality Sufficiency of Evidence Certification of Record of the Case Hearsay Admissibility

Case Brief

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Parties

The Attorney General of Canada on behalf of the United States of America

Requesting State

David L. Smith

Person Sought

Procedural Posture

Extradition / Committal Hearing Following Authority to Proceed (atp) Issued; Oral Reasons and Committal Order

Legal Issues

  1. 1 Whether the certified record of the case (ROC) contains evidence that, if it had occurred in Canada, would justify committal for trial for fraud under s.380 Criminal Code
  2. 2 Whether the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) qualifies as a 'person' or victim for purposes of the Canadian fraud provision
  3. 3 Whether the ROC is sufficiently reliable and not so defective as to be excluded

Ratio Decidendi

The certified record of the case contained admissible and sufficiently reliable evidence that, if occurring in Canada, would justify committal for trial for fraud under s.380 Criminal Code (including evidence of deceptive conduct, sham transactions and unreported income); the IRS is appropriately treated as the government victim and the extradition judge need not decide foreign law or defenses at this stage; accordingly Smith is committed to custody to await surrender.

Court Disposition

Committed to custody to await surrender

Orders

  • Commitment into custody to await surrender pursuant to Extradition Act
  • Inform the person sought that surrender will not occur until after expiry of 30 days and that he has a right to appeal the order and to apply for judicial interim release