Fraudsters ordered to repay ICBC over $344,000
The B.C. Supreme Court has found four people liable for various parts of a broad conspiracy to disguise and resell 14 stolen vehicles between 2002 and 2003.
The group created phony Alberta registration documents for the stolen vehicles, re-registered and then resold the autos to B.C. buyers.
The four were ordered to pay special and punitive damages as follows:
| Defendant | Special damages (claims paid by ICBC) |
Punitive damages |
| Jaspal Atwal | $22,931 | $5,000 |
| Vikram Atwal | $113,365 | $40,000 |
| Jasraj Bains | $96,510 | $40,000 |
| Jagjit Gill | $68,730 | $50,000 |
Note: Some defendants were found jointly liable so special damages overlap and they cannot be totaled.
B.C. Supreme Court Justice A.F Cullen admitted it was impossible, with the evidence before him, to determine the extent to which any of the conspiracy defendants profited from the scheme at issue.
“However, I am satisfied that the combination of special and punitive damages that I have awarded is adequate to deter and denounce the behavior giving rise to these actions, by creating a significant financial burden on those who participated in this scheme.”
ICBC was also awarded a further $131,216 in damages against four other people and a business found to have acquired the stolen vehicles.
“We are pleased with the award,” said Shelley Russell, ICBC’s vice president of claims programs and planning. “The punitive damages, in particular, show how seriously the courts treat this type of fraud.”
This trial heard two civil actions out of five filed against 89 defendants, all participants in the same theft ring.
