B.C. lawyer accused of ‘misappropriating’ $1.3 million

A B.C. lawyer stands accused of misappropriating $1.3 million of clients' money and then lying to the regulator about it.

Delta-based lawyer David Michael Simon is scheduled to have a pre-hearing conference with the Law Society of B.C. in March following the allegations.

According to July 13, 2022, Law Society of B.C. decision, Simon "misappropriated, improperly withdrew or authorized the improper withdrawal of client trust funds" from a pooled trust account 68 times between January 2018 and July 2019.

The decision said Simon then made statements "he knew or ought to have known were false or misleading" to the Law Society.

The decision stated the trust account was short by $1,329,832.

The decision said when the trust account was short, Simon failed to eliminate the shortages and failed to immediately make written reports about shortages greater than $2,500.

The lawyer also stands accused of breaching client identification and verification rules.

The Law Society says in October 2017 when dealing with a non-face-to-face transaction he failed to verify the identity of his clients.

The regulator states the allegations constitute professional misconduct.

None of the allegations have been proven.

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