HMTQ v. Semeniuk

HMTQ v. Semeniuk

The judge accepted the Crown's evidence and rejected the accused's testimony as not credible, concluded the accused acted as a sub mortgage broker who knowingly created and submitted false and forged employment, income, gift, asset and contract documents in five transactions, and that those false representations materially affected the banks' decisions to advance mortgage funds; accordingly the Crown proved the essential elements of the remaining counts beyond a reasonable doubt and the accused was convicted on those counts.

Citation
2001 BCSC 1905
Parties
Crown: Her Majesty the Queen; Accused: Mark Konstantin Semeniuk
Court
Supreme Court of British Columbia
Jurisdiction
Canada
Judgment Date
21 June 2001
Procedural Posture
Criminal / Trial Judgment (oral Reasons for Judgment)
Outcome
Accused found guilty on the remaining counts of the Indictment; specific counts dismissed as noted.
Legal Topics
Uttering Forged Documents, Fraud by False Representations, Mortgage Fraud, Reliance by Financial Institutions, Credibility of Witnesses
Source Language
English
Criminal Law Fraud Forgery Mortgage/banking Law Evidence Law Uttering Forged Documents Fraud by False Representations Mortgage Fraud +2 more

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Parties

Her Majesty the Queen

Crown

Mark Konstantin Semeniuk

Accused

Procedural Posture

Criminal / Trial Judgment (oral Reasons for Judgment)

Legal Issues

  1. 1 Whether the accused knowingly uttered forged documents and made false representations to induce banks to advance mortgage funds
  2. 2 Whether the accused acted as a sub mortgage broker and thus took responsibility for the accuracy of information submitted
  3. 3 Whether the banks' and mortgage specialists' failures to verify information absolve the accused of criminal liability

Ratio Decidendi

The judge accepted the Crown's evidence and rejected the accused's testimony as not credible, concluded the accused acted as a sub mortgage broker who knowingly created and submitted false and forged employment, income, gift, asset and contract documents in five transactions, and that those false representations materially affected the banks' decisions to advance mortgage funds; accordingly the Crown proved the essential elements of the remaining counts beyond a reasonable doubt and the accused was convicted on those counts.

Court Disposition

Accused found guilty on the remaining counts of the Indictment; specific counts dismissed as noted.

Orders

  • Counts 18, 23 and 24 dismissed following no evidence motions
  • Counts 16 and 20 dismissed