Yellowknife businessman ordered to pay back fraudulent loan, serve 18 months house arrest
Liang Chen was sentenced at territorial court in Yellowknife on Friday.
He pleaded guilty to defrauding the Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC), a Crown corporation that provides financing and other services to entrepreneurs.
Although the lawsuit stems from the BDC, it also involves Chen's former client whose business he impacted through the fraudulent loan.
In 2018, Chen took out a $250,000 loan from the BDC for Northern Sky Films, when he was director of the company.
The court heard that Chen used that loan to support another business he owned and it didn't go toward Northern Sky Films.
Businessman, Shengteng Wang eventually took over as director of Northern Sky Films, but wasn't informed of the loan. He didn't find out about it until the BDC approached him years later, asking for repayment. Northern Sky Films closed in 2023 and alleged that the closure was due to the fraudulent loan.
The court also heard that Chen had been making payments on the loan until the pandemic hit.
The joint sentence was submitted by Crown attorney, Madison Walls and defence attorney, Jessi Casebeer.
Judge Gary Magee accepted the sentence.
Magee also talked about the impact Chen's actions had on Wang, an immigrant who put his trust in a consultant. Magee said Wang's discovery of the costly loan must have been a "frightening" experience.
"Mr. Chen was acting in his own self-interest," Magee said.
He added that Chen committed this crime over numerous years and could have stopped at any time.
The conditional sentence means Chen will not serve jail time as long as he follows the conditions of his order. This includes 18 months of house arrest where he can only leave for certain exceptions including childcare, employment, his required community service hours and medical appointments.
He will then serve six months under a curfew where his hours outside his home are limited.
Magee said the fact that Chen entered a plea and saved the court time and resources helped reduce the sentence. He said a conditional sentence is also appropriate in this case because it gives Chen the opportunity to pay back the loan.
Chen is required to make monthly payments for the approximate $230,000 he still owes the BDC. This money is paid to the court and then passed on to the BDC.
Magee said if Chen defaults on any of his payments before the amount is paid off, he will serve just under two years in jail.
In a separate civil suit, Wang won a $156,961 judgment against Chen.
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