Immigration lawyer Paul Hesse disbarred after Manitoba Law Society finds he stole millions from clients
The Manitoba Law Society has disbarred Paul Hesse, stating the disgraced immigration lawyer lost over $6 million of his clients' money through a series of schemes that saw them invest in fake or shell companies under the promise it would help them immigrate to Canada.
Hesse had been under investigation by the law society since July 2019, when several of his former clients came forward to CBC and other media outlets, claiming he had bilked them out of their life savings.
The decision says that over a three-year period, beginning in 2016, Hesse lied to 27 different clients, almost all would-be immigrants, making false promises that cost them thousands of dollars.
"He lied, he stole, he acted in his own self-interest, he gave wrong advice and he abused his position to get his clients to lend him millions of dollars, most of which he never repaid," the Sept. 16 law society decision says.