The wife of accused securities fraud artist Gregg Mulholland wants the BC Supreme Court to remove the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s certificate of pending litigation from a property in Whistler to be able to complete a sale, claiming she needs the money to pay her family’s living expenses and legal fees.
In an affidavit filed in BC Supreme Court April 20, West Vancouver resident Delia Mulholland says the certificate of pending litigation on the property at 2978 High Point Drive, a vacant lot assessed last year at $2.26 million, is “causing hardship and inconvenience” because it hinders access to funds she requires.
In her affidavit, she claims to be the “sole officer and director” of both Vision Crest Consulting Group Ltd. and 2978 High Point Drive Whistler Holdings Ltd., both of which are named in a lawsuit filed by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) as alleged shell companies used to cloak money reaped from her husband’s alleged offshore securities fraud scheme. Gregg Mulholland is in custody awaiting trial in New York.
“Since my husband has been incarcerated, I have been without the funds other than meagre savings that I had. I do not have a job and caring for my daughters occupies my time fully,” she states in her affidavit. “I need monies to live on and I have virtually exhausted all of my saving and have had to rely on borrowings from friends and family members to not only provide for my family’s support but to pay monies on account of the requirement of lawyers in the state of New York.”
The SEC’s original lawsuit focused on the Mulhollands’ $5-million West Vancouver home on Mathers Avenue owned through Vision Crest, but the commission amended its claim when it discovered the couple owned a lot in Whistler through another shell company. Delia Mulholland, now claiming to be Vision Crest’s sole director, denies the SEC’s allegations and is seeking to sell the Whistler property to pay her husband’s legal costs, in addition to taxes owed to the District of West Vancouver and contractors.
She claims the couple bought the Whistler property for a winter vacation home, and that “for investment purposes,” title to the land would be in the name of a “single purpose investment company” to be able to sell it “by way of a non-taxable share sale of the nominee company.”
Now, Delia Mulholland claims that the sale of the Whistler property can’t go through unless the SEC’s certificate is lifted. The commission, according to the affidavit, does not oppose the sale, but wants the proceeds paid into court.
Attached to the filing is a contract of purchase and sale for the Whistler lot from broker Whistler Real Estate Co. Ltd. dated March 28, 2016, detailing the $1.95-million transaction set to close on May 3, 2016.
The buyer is listed as Patrick Dovigi, a former professional hockey player once drafted by the Edmonton Oilers, who now runs a sanitation company in Ontario.
Reached by phone by Business in Vancouver, Dovigi said he was aware of the SEC’s lawsuit, but is interested only in getting clear title on the lot.
“I’ve been looking for property in Whistler for the last two years,” Dovigi said. “I don’t know anything about the Mulhollands.”
Dovigi made an offer when the price of the lot was reduced this year, he said.
“I’m just trying to buy a piece of real estate,” he said. “It’s pretty simple. I’m asking for free and clear title and that’s it.”
Meanwhile, the title and assessment documents included with the filing list Vision Crest Consulting Group and 2978 High Point Drive Whistler Holdings as being registered in Calgary to a virtual office address under the name of David Schindler, but Schindler declined to comment when contacted by BIV.
In a response to the SEC’s lawsuit, also filed April 20, Delia Mulholland, as a Vision Crest director, denies that the properties and the companies were part of her husband’s alleged fraud.
A hearing is scheduled in BC Supreme Court on May 2, 2016.
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