Investors listed as victims sued VPD officer for share of profits in real estate deals

These townhouses on 64th Avenue in Surrey are part of a housing development project formerly called Sahara. Photo by Arlen Redekop /PNG

Article content

Two of the three housing developments at the centre of a Vancouver police investigation that led to charges against police officer Kal Dosanjh are also the subject of a complex civil case he and others face in B.C. Supreme Court.

Article content

The lawsuit was filed more than three years ago by six business people who are also on the list of investors identified as “victims” in court documents related to the fraud, theft and breach charges against Dosanjh.

Article content

Article content

Article content

Dosanjh, a 26-year VPD veteran, and co-accused Sarabjit Gill were charged last week with one count each of fraud and of theft involving three housing developments, for a total of six criminal charges each.

Article content

Article content

Dosanjh alone faces one count each of fraud and theft against the at-risk kids charity, Kids Play Foundation, that he helped found in 2015, and breach of trust as a public officer related to the charity allegations.

Article content

Police in the criminal charges identify the three housing developments as Queen’s Park, Sahara and Azura. They allege Dosanjh and Gill defrauded or stole a total of $3 million from 19 victims, all investors.

Article content

The Queen’s Park development and one called the 64th Avenue project, which refers to the Sahara development, are also named in at least one lawsuit filed in B.C. Supreme Court by several individuals and companies who invested in those developments and allege legal agreements were violated.

Article content

They allege their investments were lost because of financial improprieties by those they are suing, including Dosanjh and Gill.

Article content

With criminal charges, the prosecution must prove the case beyond a reasonable doubt for a conviction. In a civil case, the standard of proof is lower and a judge weighs evidence to determine which version presented to the court is more likely to have occurred before deciding if restitution or damages are warranted.

Article content

Article content

None of the allegations in the lawsuits have been tried before a judge. And Dosanjh has filed responses to the lawsuits denying all allegations and calling them false and malicious.

Article content

Article content

Asked why allegations in a civil lawsuit ended up being investigated by police, VPD spokesman Darren Wong said they came to police attention after a complaint to the Office of the Police Complaints Commissioner, which investigates complaints of police wrongdoing. VPD investigated the complaint and it led to the charges, he said in an email.

Article content

Large vacant lot in Mission that was to be site of a project called Queen’s Park. Photo by Jason Payne /PNG

Article content

In the 2023 civil lawsuit, the plaintiffs ask the court to order the defendants to account for any profits or revenues they earned in connection with a number of properties they invested in, including those referred to as the proposed Queen’s Park in Mission and the Sahara in Surrey, and to award them their share according to the interest they owned.

Article content

The criminal and civil legal processes are separate, but the plaintiffs in that lawsuit include six of the 24 investors Dosanjh is forbidden from contacting, according to his bail conditions.

Article content

The plaintiffs allege Dosanjh, Gill and others violated a joint agreement formed to invest in real estate in 2018, according to the civil case. They say most individuals invested $150,000 or $300,000 each which gave them either a 4.5 per cent or nine per cent stake in a property the lawsuit calls the 60th Avenue property in Surrey.