Harpreet Awla was singled out as playing an integral role in the conspiracy, not only the thefts and resales, but also recruiting new members. Awla was also ordered to pay $60,000 in punitive damages for trying to persuade co-defendant Cheri Kostynick not to testify against him. Awla’s total liability was found to be $182,496 for six vehicles. His brother, Gurpreet Awla, was fined $13,100 for two transactions. Nine other co-defendants were found liable for special and punitive damages, including Sandeep Rai, Navdeep Brar, Ross Hinchberger, Rodney Dick, Jason Smith, Satwant Ranauta, Burnaby company Bansal & Sons Diesel Automotive, Ajmer Lit and Vikram Atwal.
SURREY- An Indo-Canadian fronted car fraud gang has been fined $850,000 in special and punitive damages after the court found all 10 defendants liable for their involvement in a major auto theft ring.
B.C. Supreme Court Associate Chief Justice Austin Cullen handed down the fines on Monday after the defendants were found guilty earlier.
The co-conspirators stole vehicles insured by ICBC, created false ownership histories including Alberta registrations and new vehicle identification numbers or VINs, and then resold them to unwitting B.C. drivers in a scam known as “revinning.” The case centred on 12 vehicles stolen in 2002 and 2003 in Metro Vancouver, reported the Province newspaper.
Cullen noted in his ruling that “punitive damages are very much the exception rather than the rule,” and are imposed only “if there has been high-handed, malicious, arbitrary or highly reprehensible misconduct that departs to a marked degree from ordinary standards of decent behaviour.”
Judge Cullen singled out Harpreet Awla as playing an integral role in the conspiracy, not only the thefts and resales, but also recruiting new members. Awla was also ordered to pay $60,000 in punitive damages for trying to persuade co-defendant Cheri Kostynick not to testify against him.
According to court documents, Kostynick knew Awla through her boyfriend at the time, and Awla ordered her to “keep her mouth shut.” Kostynick was fined $127,341 for her role in the fraud.
Awla’s total liability was found to be $182,496 for six vehicles. His brother, Gurpreet Awla, was fined $13,100 for two transactions.
Nine other co-defendants were found liable for special and punitive damages, including Sandeep Rai, Navdeep Brar, Ross Hinchberger, Rodney Dick, Jason Smith, Satwant Ranauta, Burnaby company Bansal & Sons Diesel Automotive, Ajmer Lit and Vikram Atwal.
Atwal was ordered to pay $100,000 in punitive damages in two separate cases brought by ICBC.
In August 2011, the same judge found 10 people and one company liable for tens of thousands of dollars for a similar scheme involving seven vehicles.
Monday’s ruling was the last of several lawsuits brought against 89 defendants by ICBC.
ICBC estimates that fraud adds between $100 and $150 to each B.C. driver’s yearly insurance costs.
