The search warrant that the Ontario Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals obtained, and the manner in which the OSPCA carried out the search of the Toronto Humane Society’s premises were so flawed that the Crown has dropped all charges against former THS president Tim Trow and other society leaders. The decision was announced August 16.
Crown attorney Christine McGoey told a Toronto court that the warrant and search process was marked by “several serious breaches” of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms’ protections against unreasonable search and seizure.
The warrant contained no end date, she explained, and OSPCA’s actions, including inviting the media to be present, seizing unrelated materials at the shelter and Trow’s home, and misusing a Criminal Code clause to carry out veterinary checks on the shelter animals, would have rendered all evidence inadmissible.
OSPCA chair Rob Godfrey condemned the decision at a “theatrical afternoon news conference” (Toronto Star) the same day. “There is simply too much evidence of animal cruelty to let these charges drop,” he stated. “The public needs to have faith that alleged animal abusers will answer in a court of law when evidence is collected suggesting that they committed offences.”
McGoey acknowledged that though the process was deeply flawed, it had brought essential changes to the THS. Staff members described an environment of intimidation, domination, crowding and delayed medical care during a Star investigation last year. The Society’s governance was heavily criticized, as was Trow’s apparent domination of the board of directors.
The THS elected a new board of directors in May 2010, a slate of Trow critics that had run under the name “Faces of Change.”
For background information, refer to Canadian Fundraising & Philanthropy, November 15 and 30, 2009, April 15, 2010, June 15, 2010, www.canadianfundraiser.com. For more information on the Crown’s decision, http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/torontohumanesociety/article/848293--all-charges-dropped-in-toronto-humane-society-case?bn=1
CRA shuts down another charity for falsifying receipts
The Canada Revenue Agency revoked the charitable registration of Christ Apostolic Church International – Canada, a Toronto-area charity, on August 21, 2010. In a July 16 notice of intention, CRA stated that in 2007 the charity reported tax-receipted donations of $256,615 of cash, yet deposited only $81,298 into its bank account. When asked to account for this discrepancy, the organization said the receipted amount represented both cash and property donated.
However, when asked to substantiate the value of the property it claimed to have received, the charity presented purchase invoices and shipping documents that CRA decided had been falsified. On its T-3010 for that year, the organization listed a board of directors consisting of John Essuon, Chairman; Michael Nimo, VP; John Saiw, Job Asante and Kofi Sekyi, and no full-time or part-time staff.
CRA stated that the charity issued receipts for amounts greater than amounts donated, issued receipts for transactions that do not qualify as gifts, failed to maintain and provide adequate records to support its activities, and provided falsified records to the CRA’s auditors.
For more information, http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/nwsrm/rlss/2010/m08/nr100820-eng.html?eml
National magazine flags potentially fraudulent art purchase/gifting scheme
In a July 26 article, Maclean’s Magazine cast a sceptical eye on “The VIA Project,” an artefact purchase and gifting scheme that was heavily marketed in the Toronto area over the summer. Participants were to 1) join the Cultural Heritage Association; 2) put a down payment on a collection of vintage images from DeLeon White Vintage Images, hold them for at least three years, and pay them off in full before selling or donating them; 3) apply to Vintage Capital, a company apparently created alongside the VIA Project, for a loan to fund the purchase of a second collection of vintage photos from Moos Heritage Collections, and 4) donate the Moos photos to a Canadian university.
VIA president Lenny Kormiol, the former chef who founded the project’s promoter, Sovereign Financial, told Macleans that the photos were rare and almost certain to increase in value over the three-year holding period. The gain in value could potentially offset the interest charges on the loan and result in a capital gains-exempt gift with a significant tax receipt, he stated.
Marketing presentations are closed to the media, and the websites associated with the scheme are remarkably uninformative. The Cultural Heritage Association bills itself as “dedicated to the enjoyment, recognition and preservation of arts and culture in Canada.” Its three founders are Walter Moos (of Moos Heritage Collections), Stephen White (DeLeon White Vintage Images) and Jeffrey Spalding, Canadian artist and public gallery director. Though the association claims to have been founded in 2009, its website is largely incomplete, holding only a brief vision statement, founders’ bios, an encouragement to join (but no means to sign up online) and a Contribute page encouraging donations by cheque.
Spalding, Moos and White are also the founding (and only) directors of The VIA Project. Though its website contains several claims of Canadian university interest in receiving the photos as invaluable research tools, not a single university name appears on the site.
The Sovereign Financial website is even more opaque. Visitors can’t access any information without a client number and password.
For more information, Macleans Magazine, July 26, 2010, “An artful scheme”
