Duped Spouse

[duped spouse]

I married a greek immigrant in 2002...he received his permanent resident card...we separated Jan 2006...he fled the country...left me with his debt....he owes credit card debt which thankfully i am not responsible for....he forged my name on transfer papers so he could sell his truck which I was co-owner of....I think he should have some reprecussion for this....can I go after him for the debt....or at least have him not be allowed to enter the country???  What can I do....I will be getting a divorce some day soon....what happens to the clause "I am responsible for him for 10 years"??? Please help or direct me to someone who can help me.   His name is Grigorios Pavlaki Apostolidis....
 
Sincerely,
Rene Q

[toby]

I think you are financially responsible for a spouse you sponsored for only 3 years. So, you are probably off the hook, except for any debts he compiled (welfare etc) during the first 3 years.

As for the truck, if you know who the buyer was, you might be able to get the sale reversed on grounds of fraudulent conveyance, but the buyer would want his money back, of course. Mostly you re out of luck unless you can get a judgment against your ex, preferably in small claims court, and then attack assets he has in Canada.

[whoopi83]

Wasn't it 10 years responsibility back then?

[ariell]

Duped: The timing of this is crucial. When did your husband come to Canada? Sponsors are now financially responsible for their spouse for a period of 3 years after their spouse attains PR, but previously, as Whoopi said, it was actually 10 years. The Act changed in June 2002. So anytime from April 1997 to June 2002 = 10 years financially responsible. After  June 02 = 3 years financially responsible. I'm hoping for your sake it was after June but it sounds like based on what you quoted that your Sponsorship Agreement did say 10 years, in which case, yes unfortunately that is binding. There is nothing that you can do to prevent him from re-entering the country but yes you can certainly go after him for forging your name to sell your truck. That's fraud! I would suggest that you talk to a qualified lawyer immediately.

[toby]

Here's a preemptive idea, to discourage your ex from re-entering Canada.

Seek a judgment in Small Claims Court against your ex for the fraudulent sale of the truck, and anything else you can make stick. Ask for a judgment in damages (money), and ask that the judgment be for as long as your period of financial obligation to your ex, plus 5 years. (I don't know if this is legally possible, but check with a legal-aid organization.) If so, make sure your ex knows about the judgment. Then, if he re-enters the country, wait for him to acquire some assets, then serve him with the judgment.

He probably won't re-enter Canada knowing there is a sword hanging over his head.

[whoopi83]

Here's a preemptive idea, to discourage your ex from re-entering Canada.

Seek a judgment in Small Claims Court against your ex for the fraudulent sale of the truck, and anything else you can make stick. Ask for a judgment in damages (money), and ask that the judgment be for as long as your period of financial obligation to your ex, plus 5 years. (I don't know if this is legally possible, but check with a legal-aid organization.) If so, make sure your ex knows about the judgment. Then, if he re-enters the country, wait for him to acquire some assets, then serve him with the judgment.

He probably won't re-enter Canada knowing there is a sword hanging over his head.

The main issue with all of this is that no matter whether divorced or not the sponsor obligations hold for the entire period. 

First thing may be to check out the criminal side regarding the fraudulent documents.  Then one could pursue via the civil - small claims route depending on claim value.  There is still the obstacle of where to send the notice of claim?  Not sure that you can cite a Greek address?  Also not sure if you can cite last known address when you believe that the person has returned to Greece or you have knowledge of similar.  Then, even if you could obtain judgment, you would have a limitation as to how long it could be claimed, plus you would need to make sure you knew if they re-entered the country to activate the claim... very difficult.  I'd suggest talking to a qualified lawyer.  The sponsor can't get the sponsored person barred regardless, only the authorities could do so if a crime was committed and the crime was sufficient to revoke PR.

[toby]

All the difficulties you list are valid concerns, Whoopi83.  And yes, an hour with a lawyer would clear up a lot.

My purpose was to suggest a few avenues for the "wife" to explore rather than do nothing. (Sorry, I can't look for her name without losing this message.)

A main issue is this: regardless of whether she is still financially responsible for his welfare expenses in Canada, if he stays out of Canada, she has no debt to pay. She is not financially responsible for his expenses in Greece.

How to keep him out of Canada? One way is by holding out the possibility of a judgment against his assets should he return to Canada.  There are several judgments I know of that can be handed down against someone in absentia, and are exercisable upon his entry into Canada.  Maybe this is one of those judgments? How can she know if he has returned to Canada? etc et  ALl good questions, but we will never know the answers unless we ask the questions -- or more appropriately she won't know unless she asks.

[Karlshammar]

Forgery is a crime, so since he forged your signature, I would file a police report.

[whoopi83]

All the difficulties you list are valid concerns, Whoopi83.  And yes, an hour with a lawyer would clear up a lot.

My purpose was to suggest a few avenues for the "wife" to explore rather than do nothing. (Sorry, I can't look for her name without losing this message.)

A main issue is this: regardless of whether she is still financially responsible for his welfare expenses in Canada, if he stays out of Canada, she has no debt to pay. She is not financially responsible for his expenses in Greece.

How to keep him out of Canada? One way is by holding out the possibility of a judgment against his assets should he return to Canada.  There are several judgments I know of that can be handed down against someone in absentia, and are exercisable upon his entry into Canada.  Maybe this is one of those judgments? How can she know if he has returned to Canada? etc et  ALl good questions, but we will never know the answers unless we ask the questions -- or more appropriately she won't know unless she asks.

Agreed Toby that she is not responsible for him whilst he is not in Canada, my point was that:

1.  If he does return to Canada she is obligated legally to provide for him.

2.  If he has committed fraud it may be reasonable to assume that he is somewhat unscrupulous and would not:

a). inform her that he has returned
b). think twice about claiming social assistance and burdening her and;
c). probably couldn't care less about having a small claim hanging around.  I'm not sure of the actual process in Canada but there is most likely a limitation as to how long such a claim would be "pursuable".

3.  Depending on the amount of money involved, it may not be financially prudent to lay out costs for filing a claim, getting legal advice etc if there is no real possibility of being able to enforce the order.

Criminal charges are on the other hand a different issue and would probably be more of a damocles sword than a civil recovery judgment.

I take your points though.

[toby]

Yes, Whoopi; we agree on the essentials.

Criminal charges work better than a civil judgment.  But the latter can be obtained inexpensively through Small  Claims Court, while the criminal avenue requires an expensive lawyer.

A brief consultation to see if Small Claims Court is a viable option can be managed inexpensively by contacting a legal-aid office.

If a remedy is expensive, it usually won't be used, especially by someone who gives the "poor me, I am poor" signals that Mr. Dugan does (and who may be a scamster, as it is alleged in a different thread).

So, the purpose of this summary is to suggest a practical recourse to others who may find themselves duped.