West Vancouver lawyer suspended for taking in $25M in questionable transactions
Posted September 7, 2017 9:56 am.
Last Updated September 8, 2017 9:06 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
WEST VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) – A West Vancouver lawyer is in trouble for making almost $26 million worth of “questionable” transactions for an offshore investor.
Donald Franklin Gurney has been suspended and ordered to return any fees he collected from his un-identified client between May and November of 2013.
The Law Society of BC says Gurney used his trust account “to receive and disburse a total of $25,845,489.87 on behalf of a corporate client without making reasonable inquiries about the circumstances and without providing any substantial legal services.”
David Jordan with the Law Society of BC says he failed to investigate the source of foreign funds being held in his trust account, but whether Gurney was laundering money is outside the society’s mandate.
“We are…mandated with enforcing the rules of professional conduct for lawyers. In this case, he was found to have breached rules regarding what he can do with his trust account and that constituted professional misconduct.”
A routine audit determined society rules had been violated.
Gurney’s lawyer insists he’s done nothing wrong, but no paperwork has been filed yet, regarding a possible appeal.
The Law Society has ordered Gurney be suspended for six months, starting November 1. It adds Gurney “must relinquish to the Law Society the $25,845 he was paid for the use of his trust account so that he does not benefit financially from his misconduct.”
