An Alberta Court of King’s Bench judge has denied Alberta lawyer Jeff Rath’s plea for an additional $776,000 to cover his personal and legal expenses while his accounts remain frozen by a court order. Rath, a prominent figure in Alberta’s separatist movement, has been under a court-ordered Mareva order since July. This rare order has frozen his personal and professional assets due to legal action from the Tallcree First Nation, which accuses Rath of misappropriating money from a trust account established in 2017 to hold settlement funds from the federal government.
Previously, Rath and his professional corporation had access to $135,000 from the $3 million held in trust by his lawyers. Rath recently sought the release of an additional $776,469 to cover $350,000 in legal fees and $426,469 in living expenses, including expenses for his horses, his daughter’s education, housing, healthcare, and personal matters.
The judge, Justice Lorena Harris, dismissed Rath’s request as it did not meet the legal test criteria. She noted that Rath’s financial disclosures were incomplete and unreliable, making it challenging to assess if he had other funds available to cover his expenses. Despite the denial, Harris mentioned that a future request for funds could be reconsidered with a complete financial record and a detailed list of expenses from Rath.
Chief Rupert Meneen and the Tallcree First Nation requested the Mareva order over concerns that funds could be misused before the legal matter is resolved. The court found a strong case to grant the temporary order, tracing back to 2017 when the Tallcree First Nation received $57.6 million from the federal government after settling an agricultural benefits claim. Rath was entrusted to place the money into a trust, with fees set at $11.5 million or 20% of the settlement, later deemed excessive. The ongoing legal battle includes efforts by the First Nation to recover the misappropriated funds.
The Sturgeon Lake Cree Nation is also seeking to remove Rath as trustee of its trust account due to undisclosed administrative and legal fees discovered recently. Rath has refuted allegations of fund misappropriation, and CBC News has reached out to his legal team for comment on the judge’s decision.
