A deportation order was issued Jan. 18 for Timothy Craig Durkin because of his involvement with a U.S. Ponzi scheme
A Sooke businessman embroiled in legal battles over ownership of Sooke Harbour House hotel has been ordered deported from Canada as a result of his involvement with a Ponzi scheme that ran from 2009 to 2013 and involved millions of dollars in the U.S.
Timothy Craig Durkin is a U.K. citizen and a permanent resident of Canada.
The deportation order was issued Jan. 18. It’s unclear if Durkin will seek to appeal the decision or if he is still in Canada.
Neither Durkin nor his lawyer could be reached Wednesday.
An email from an official at Immigration, Refugees and Canadian Citizenship Canada said on Wednesday they could not comment on specific cases without consent due to privacy legislation.
Durkin has been involved in legal battles in the capital region due to a failed share-purchase agreement for the Sooke Harbour House hotel.
He was a director of companies related to the hotel that were ordered in 2020 to pay $4 million to Frederique and Sinclair Philip, who owned the hotel. Frederique Philip said this week that no money has been received.
On Tuesday, the B.C. Securities Commission announced Durkin had defrauded a would-be immigrant from China of $1 million by lying about ownership of the hotel. A decision on potential sanctions is scheduled for March 6.
Last week’s deportation decision by adjudicator Trent Cook of the Immigration and…
