residential unit purchaser

Victim said:
Don't worry. Everything I say here is true.
and I am going to repeat it to the police this Friday.

I did not purchase any unit, but I lost a lot more than most of people here due to some other fraud scam Moon orchestrated.

Out of curiosity, did you buy any unit? Who did you buy it from if you did?
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Hi Victim, and everyone else still tracking this forum:

I am one of the residential unit purchaser for this fraudulent project and I was also present for that much useless Sep 2nd court hearing. My heart goes out to those commercial unit buyers, who's hard-earned money probably went down J. Lee's dirty throat. The only certainty so far is as follows:

If you've purchased a RESIDENTIAL unit AND your deposit is with "Bratty and Partners LLP", then you will get 100% of your deposit money back. (Quoted by Mr. Craig J. Hill, the representing lawyer for Bratty LLP, to whom I directly spoke to in court on Tuesday).

Many people that were present in court on Tuesday bought commercial unit, and when they spoke up, all the lawyers said was "I'm terrible sorry, but we are ONLY dealing with residential unit purchasers that gave their deposit money to Bratty but NOT Meerai Cho. It would be a conflict of interest for me to give you legal advice on your commercial unit purchase given that I am assigned to deal with Bratty LLP. From what I know so far, there has been no legal motion in place for the deposit money that was held in Trust account for Meerai Cho, nor any application for the commencement of a return protocol for that money. My advice is that you speak to your personal lawyer with this matter."

I'm not exactly sure how to break this terribly heartbreaking news to commercial unit purchasers, but most likely, J. Lee fled to Korea, and the money he stole probably had been looong gone from Canada even before he fled the Canadian soil himself.

We bought our unit with Jenny Faulton (and don't be fooled by her last name because she is Korean), which is a blood-related niece of one of our close family friend. She has been avoiding my call since earlier this year and it seems like she too had fled to Korean a couple months ago. That family friend of ours lost well over a million to that bitch. So to that racist comments against Korean ppl, I say it's not right to be racist against ANY ethnic groups, but the fact that such unprecedented fraudulence as this one was orchestrated by Korean people in Canada....that probably says something. (no offense, but i'm just saying...and yes I am Korean myself, and a terribly ashamed one at the moment).

Lastly, for Victim: the 5 key people that you listed with great amount of detail is indeed much appreciated. But I must dispute what you've wrote for Aram Ryu. Maybe he was recruited by Moon, that part I'm not sure, but he is indeed helping many of us in trying to get our deposit money back. He is also the representing lawyer for many large accounting firms here in Canada, to whom I asked for references for Aram, and the majority came back spectacular. So in nature, he is not much different than Bratty; just unlucky ones that chose the wrong business partners/clients.
 
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161959 said:
Hi Victim, and everyone else still tracking this forum:

I am one of the residential unit purchaser for this fraudulent project and I was also present for that much useless Sep 2nd court hearing. My heart goes out to those commercial unit buyers, who's hard-earned money probably went down J. Lee's dirty throat. The only certainty so far is as follows:

If you've purchased a RESIDENTIAL unit AND your deposit is with "Bratty and Partners LLP", then you will get 100% of your deposit money back. (Quoted by Mr. Craig J. Hill, the representing lawyer for Bratty LLP, to whom I directly spoke to in court on Tuesday).

Many people that were present in court on Tuesday bought commercial unit, and when they spoke up, all the lawyers said was "I'm terrible sorry, but we are ONLY dealing with residential unit purchasers that gave their deposit money to Bratty but NOT Meerai Cho. It would be a conflict of interest for me to give you legal advice on your commercial unit purchase given that I am assigned to deal with Bratty LLP. From what I know so far, there has been no legal motion in place for the deposit money that was held in Trust account for Meerai Cho, nor any application for the commencement of a return protocol for that money. My advice is that you speak to your personal lawyer with this matter."

I'm not exactly sure how to break this terribly heartbreaking news to commercial unit purchasers, but most likely, J. Lee fled to Korea, and the money he stole probably had been looong gone from Canada even before he fled the Canadian soil himself.

We bought our unit with Jenny Faulton (and don't be fooled by her last name because she is Korean), which is a blood-related niece of one of our close family friend. She has been avoiding my call since earlier this year and it seems like she too had fled to Korean a couple months ago. That family friend of ours lost well over a million to that bitch. So to that racist comments against Korean ppl, I say it's not right to be racist against ANY ethnic groups, but the fact that such unprecedented fraudulence as this one was orchestrated by Korean people in Canada....that probably says something. (no offense, but i'm just saying...and yes I am Korean myself, and a terribly ashamed one at the moment).

Lastly, for Victim: the 5 key people that you listed with great amount of detail is indeed much appreciated. But I must dispute what you've wrote for Aram Ryu. Maybe he was recruited by Moon, that part I'm not sure, but he is indeed helping many of us in trying to get our deposit money back. He is also the representing lawyer for many large accounting firms here in Canada, to whom I asked for references for Aram, and the majority came back spectacular. So in nature, he is not much different than Bratty; just unlucky ones that chose the wrong business partners/clients.
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Great post! Finally something with substance. Thanks for the info.
 
This was forwarded to me from my realtor...
----------------------------------------------------
Lessons from a condo bankruptcy

The bankruptcy of a proposed condo development and the arrest of a prominent real estate lawyer last month left many buyers potentially out of deposits totalling millions of dollars. It shouldn't have happened.

Here's why:

When you buy a new home or residential condominium from a developer in Ontario, part of your deposit is protected by the Tarion New Home Warranty Program.

This covers up to $20,000 for a new residential condominium deposit and $40,000 in deposits for a new house. However, deposits over and above these amounts are not protected. Similarly, no deposits for a proposed commercial or hotel condominium development are protected by Tarion. In most cases, all deposits are paid to the developer's lawyer, to be held in trust.

Under the regulations governing the Condominium Act, a lawyer is not supposed to release the moneys from trust unless and until they have been given proof by way of a security bond from the developer that the money is protected. In virtually all cases, the money is released when the developer is ready to begin construction on the project and would like to access the deposits for this purpose. As long as the security bond is provided, the law firm will release the funds from trust.

In the Centrum condominium bankruptcy in North York, the Bratty's law firm was holding millions of dollars in trust for the proposed residential condominium that was never built. The money was never released to the developer Yo Sup (Joseph) Lee and the buyers who purchased these residential units will get their deposits back, in full, even though the development is bankrupt and it appears that Lee has disappeared.

However, Lee retained another lawyer, Meerei Cho, to handle the commercial/hotel condominium project and although over 14 million dollars in total was placed into her trust account from buyers, it has since disappeared, even though construction never started and it does not appear that any security bond was posted. In another twist, 1.9 million of the 14 million dollars in deposits was originally placed into Bratty's trust account but developer Lee then instructed Bratty's to pay this money to Cho, which they did, and this money is part of what is now missing.

If Cho made an error in releasing the money, then part of this loss may be covered under her errors and omissions insurance policy, but this may only provide 1 million dollars in coverage for the victims. The law society has a discretionary fraud victim fund of $150,000 but this will also not be nearly enough to compensate all of the victims.

I imagine that some buyers may sue the Bratty's law firm for giving the money to Cho but in my opinion, as long as Bratty's obtained proof from Cho that the money was going to be held by her in trust according to the rules, they should succeed in any claim against them.

The good news is that over the past 20 years, in thousands of new condominium buildings, this has not occurred before, showing that in virtually all cases, lawyers follow the rules and buyers are protected.

The main lesson when buying a new condominium is still the same; check out the reputation of the builder. Reputable builders follow the rules, finish buildings on time and deliver what they promise. Still, whenever you are paying more than the Tarion protected deposits, you should now insist that the developer provide proof that they have sufficient security to protect any deposit over $20,000 if it is a new residential condominium and over $40,000 for a new residential home. It would also be a good idea for the government to just change the rules and make it a law that all lawyers holding trust moneys be bonded themselves, so it can't happen again.
 
For those who are expecting to get their deposits back...please post as soon as you receive your deposit to keep each other in the loop.

Thanks!
 
I just got my deposit back today, not a single penny short. Thanks to Bratty for not releasing the money illegally. Good luck to everyone else still awaiting!
 
Congrats! Did you hire a lawyer to deal with Bratty? I hired a lawyer and sent request last week but have not heared back yet. Keep finger cross...

161959 said:
I just got my deposit back today, not a single penny short. Thanks to Bratty for not releasing the money illegally. Good luck to everyone else still awaiting!
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wenrongle said:
Congrats! Did you hire a lawyer to deal with Bratty? I hired a lawyer and sent request last week but have not heared back yet. Keep finger cross...
Click to expand...

Yes, I do have a personal lawyer. I recommend emailing Bratty directly to get more information. About 3 days prior to the deposit return, they asked for a photo ID, and it took about a week from then to get our money back. Good luck!!
 
Thank you. I got a personal lawyer as well and received package from Bratty to sign back. But because I moved last year and the address on personal ID(for example driver licence) is different to the one on condo purchase agreement. So there is a bit trouble to continue the process. My lawyer contacted Bratty and Bratty said there are many similar situation customers. So Bratty has submitted another court hearing on Nov 28 to get court order for this type of situation to release deposit. Is your address still the same as the purchase agreement? Again, congratulations!

161959 said:
Yes, I do have a personal lawyer. I recommend emailing Bratty directly to get more information. About 3 days prior to the deposit return, they asked for a photo ID, and it took about a week from then to get our money back. Good luck!!
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Our route on Sept 29, 14 as below, hope more victims to come for supporting, thanks!

Part I (required):
11:00 AM – 12:00 PMAttend the first meeting for all creditors
Address: 25 St Clair Ave. East, Toronto

12:00 PM – 12:30 PM Announce the start the protest and conduct the buyers’ interviews
Address:25 St Clair Ave. East, Toronto

12:30 PM – 12:45 PM Walk to Merrai Cho’s office (15 minutes by walking distance)

12:45 PM – 1:00 PM Protest
Address:60 St.Clair Ave. East, Toronto (Merrai Cho’s Office)

1:00 PM- 1:45 PM Walk to queens park, Legislative Building(45minutes by walking distance)

1:45 PM -2:20 PM Protest
Address：Legislative Building,Queen's Park
1) Submit the petition to The Honourable Kathleen Wynne,The Premier Of Ontario in person
2) Submit the rest of petitions by express mails.
3) Conduct buyer’s interviews with media (4 interviews)

2:30 PM: the end of the protest
 
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I will attend this event!

betty li said:
Our route on Sept 29, 14 as below, hope more victims to come for supporting, thanks!

Part I (required):
11:00 AM – 12:00 PMAttend the first meeting for all creditors
Address: 25 St Clair Ave. East, Toronto

12:00 PM – 12:30 PM Announce the start the protest and conduct the buyers’ interviews
Address:25 St Clair Ave. East, Toronto

12:30 PM – 12:45 PM Walk to Merrai Cho’s office (15 minutes by walking distance)

12:45 PM – 1:00 PM Protest
Address:60 St.Clair Ave. East, Toronto (Merrai Cho’s Office)

1:00 PM- 1:45 PM Walk to queens park, Legislative Building(45minutes by walking distance)

1:45 PM -2:20 PM Protest
Address：Legislative Building,Queen's Park
1) Submit the petition to The Honourable Kathleen Wynne,The Premier Of Ontario in person
2) Submit the rest of petitions by express mails.
3) Conduct buyer’s interviews with media (4 interviews)

2:30 PM: the end of the protest
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Hello, I am a lawyer acting on behalf of a Purchaser of a residential unit to help collect the Deposit Monies held by Brattys LLP. The Purchaser is overseas and granted a POA for his brother. With the use of some different court forms, Brattys LLP is allowing the brother to collect on behalf of the overseas Purchaser.

Please feel free to contact me on Winnie@WinnieJLuk.ca if you would like me to assist. Take care. Good luck at tomorrow's protest. All the best!


wenrongle said:
Thank you. I got a personal lawyer as well and received package from Bratty to sign back. But because I moved last year and the address on personal ID(for example driver licence) is different to the one on condo purchase agreement. So there is a bit trouble to continue the process. My lawyer contacted Bratty and Bratty said there are many similar situation customers. So Bratty has submitted another court hearing on Nov 28 to get court order for this type of situation to release deposit. Is your address still the same as the purchase agreement? Again, congratulations!
Click to expand...
 
Hi Everybody,

I get my $$$$ back today. Thank you for my lawyer . He done his professiona duty.
Once again , Thx Vic.
And good luck for everybody.
 
I got a call from my Lawyer today about picking up my $$ on Thursday! Yay!! Finally!!
 
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