Careful On The Plea Of Conspiracy

Most fraud recovery claims involve a claim of conspiracy. Fraud by its nature is opaque and in many cases the victim knows it has been defrauded, knows that a number of parties were involved, knows that the money or assets have been hidden or moved outside of the jurisdiction beyond reach and knows that the ill-gotten gains can be moved faster than the victim can chase them. In looking to attach liability to the individuals behind the fraud, the plea of conspiracy is usually advanced. However, in many cases the particulars of the conspiracy are vague and difficult to ascertain. The recent decision in HSBC Bank of Canada v. 1100336 Alberta Ltd. (Incredible Electronics Wholesale), 2011 ABQB 748 is instructive on how parties must be careful in the manner in which they allege and marshal evidence to prove the "agreement" or "common design" necessary to establish a conspiracy.