B.C. court orders CIBC to pay $2M to Burnaby co-op

A BC Supreme Court decision says CIBC must pay a Burnaby housing co-operative over $2 million after the co-op was defrauded by a former board president.

According to the decision released Monday, Lillian Cameron defrauded the Halston Hills Housing Co-operative of $2,054,228 between September 2011 and November 2016 by depositing false cheques into her CIBC account.

The court says while Cameron was president of the co-op board, she created false invoices in which she was the payee. She would then deposit the cheques into her personal account at the bank.

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CIBC argued that it is not liable to pay the money back, saying Cameron was a “guiding mind” of Halston Hills.

The bank also argued that some of Halston Hills’ claims were time-barred through B.C.’s Limitation Act, which gives a period of two years within which someone can start a court proceeding.

The judge ruled that CIBC is liable to pay the co-op the full amount of money defrauded as the bank accepted the false cheques without Halston Hills’ knowledge.

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“I also find that Ms. Cameron was acting outside the scope of her duties in endorsing and cashing the cheques such that her knowledge should not be attributed to Halston Hills under the Limitation Act and the claims are therefore not time-barred,” Justice Peter Edelmann’s decision stated.

Cameron pleaded guilty to criminal charges of fraud in January of 2020 and was handed a sentence of three years and nine months.