United States v. Okorhi
The court upheld the hearing judge's factual findings that the Record of the Case and Supplementary Record contained sufficient evidence linking the appellant to the name 'Marc Richards' and linking that identity to the fraudulent scheme (emails referencing the appellant, a quote under his name, a passport photo,...
Source-derived case information.
- Citation
- 2020 ONCA 89
- Parties
- Respondent: The Attorney General of Canada (On behalf of the United States of America); Appellant: Benard Emurhowhoariogho Okorhi
- Court
- Court of Appeal for Ontario
- Jurisdiction
- Canada
- Judgment Date
- 5 February 2020
- Procedural Posture
- Extradition — Committal Under S.49 Extradition Act (criminal Fraud) / Appeal From Committal Order (court of Appeal)
- Outcome
- Appeal dismissed; committal order affirmed
- Legal Topics
- Committal for Extradition, Fraud, Evidence and Identification, Surrender
- Source Language
- en
Source-derived case record
Summary, issues, holding and outcome
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Parties
The Attorney General of Canada (On behalf of the United States of America)
Respondent
Benard Emurhowhoariogho Okorhi
Appellant
Procedural Posture
Extradition — Committal Under S.49 Extradition Act (criminal Fraud) / Appeal From Committal Order (court of Appeal)
Legal Issues
- 1 Whether there was evidence in the Record of the Case and Supplementary Record of the Case linking the appellant to an individual using the name 'Marc Richards'
- 2 Whether there was evidence linking 'Marc Richards' to the fraudulent scheme to justify committal under s.49 of the Extradition Act
- 3 Whether the hearing judge misapplied the committal test such that appellate intervention was required
Ratio Decidendi
The court upheld the hearing judge's factual findings that the Record of the Case and Supplementary Record contained sufficient evidence linking the appellant to the name 'Marc Richards' and linking that identity to the fraudulent scheme (emails referencing the appellant, a quote under his name, a passport photo, communications from the Richards account referencing the schemes, and a corporate interest receiving proceeds), and that the evidence established fraud resulting in well over $1 million of deprivation; therefore the committal order was properly issued and the appeal was dismissed.
Court Disposition
Appeal dismissed; committal order affirmed
Orders
- Appeal dismissed
- Committal order of the Superior Court of Justice dated September 18, 2018, affirmed
Full Case Text
Judgment text and source record
1 paragraphs
United States v. Okorhi Collection Decisions of the Court of Appeal Date 2020-02-05 Neutral citation 2020 ONCA 89 Docket numbers C65996 Judges Miller, Bradley; Fairburn, J. Michal; Thorburn, Julie Subject Criminal Decision Content COURT OF APPEAL FOR ONTARIO CITATION: United States v. Okorhi, 2020 ONCA 89 DATE: 20200205 DOCKET: C65996 Miller, Fairburn and Thorburn JJ.A. IN THE MATTER OF an appeal of a committal order pursuant to s. 49 of the Extradition Act, S.C. 1999, c. 18 BETWEEN The Attorney General of Canada (On behalf of the United States of America) Respondent and Benard Emurhowhoariogho Okorhi Appellant Gord Cudmore, for the appellant Roy Lee, for the respondent Heard and released orally: January 31, 2020 On appeal from the committal order of Justice Jonathon George of the Superior Court of Justice, dated September 18, 2018. REASONS FOR DECISION [1] An order of committal for extradition was issued in this case to await surrender to the United States on the offence of fraud. The appellant does not dispute the hearing judge’s articulation of the test for committal. Rather, he maintains that the hearing judge erred by finding that there was evidence in the Record of the Case and Supplementary Record of the Case linking the appellant to a man named “Marc Richards” and linking Marc Richards to the fraudulent scheme. [2] We do not agree. [3] There is ample evidence of a fraudulent scheme resulting in well over $1 million of actual deprivation. There is evidence linking the appellant to the name Marc Richards and evidence linking Marc Richards to the scheme. [4] We do not intend to repeat the trial judge’s reasons for coming to those conclusions, all of which are rooted in the evidence before him. The evidence included emails sent to and from the Marc Richards email account that made reference to the appellant’s name, a quote that was provided under his name, and a passport photo attached as an Exhibit to the Record of the Case that the hearing judge concluded was a representation of the appellant. [5] Equally, there is evidence linking Marc Richards to the fraudulent scheme, including emails between the Richards account and other alleged co-actors, which emails refer to the very schemes that form the foundation of some of the complaints in this case. The appellant is also linked to a corporate interest that received fraudulent proceeds. [6] Accordingly, the appeal is dismissed. “B.W. Miller J.A.” “Fairburn J.A.” “Thorburn J.A.”