A Winnipeg lawyer "took professional misconduct to a whole new level" when she hired a goon and his team of beefy biker associates to aggressively chase down unpaid bills from her disgruntled clients, a judge said yesterday.
Ingrid Chen was hauled away in handcuffs after being given an 18-month jail sentence after her conviction for attempted extortion. Chen had been seeking a fine or suspended sentence.
"Her conduct was simply bizarre. There appears to be no Canadian precedent for it," said Queen's Bench Justice Shawn Greenberg.
"Not surprisingly, there is no case law on how to deal with a lawyer who hires a thug to collect money from her clients."
Chen had denied any wrongdoing and claimed she was the real victim whose life has been ruined by vindictive former clients and a malicious prosecutor out for blood.
Greenberg disagreed, saying there is clear evidence of Chen's guilt from several wiretap conversations in which she tells the self-employed debt collector she hired that she wants her clients attacked or even "dead".
"The comments recorded in the intercepted phone calls are alarming," said Greenberg.
"It's hard to imagine what would motivate Ms. Chen to take the actions that she did."
Chen's lawyer claimed she simply made a "few stupid mistakes" as a result of being a young lawyer with no real mentor. Greenberg said that is a "gross understatement".
The hired collector, Patrick Armstrong, testified at trial that Chen wanted him to assault one of the two men he was asked to go after in 1999.
Armstrong said he couldn't go through with the beating because the man's children were home when Armstrong paid a visit.
"She wanted him slapped around, but even I'm not that much of an idiot," said Armstrong, adding he later lied to Chen and said he'd roughed the man up.
"I told her I gave him a couple slaps and she was happy with that."
Chen worked as an immigration lawyer before she was suspended by the Manitoba Law Society after her arrest. She now works as an international broker in the scrap-iron business.
The case against Chen involved two former clients named Douglas Gretchen and Mychael Dunn.
Gretchen was angry with the work Chen had done on behalf of his immigrant wife and refused to pay his bill, later suing her in small claims court and winning a default judgment when she failed to appear.
Chen was caught on a police wiretap telling Armstrong that Gretchen was "stalking" her and needed to be dealt with.
"I want him to f-- off," Chen said in the recording, which was played in court.
Armstrong -- who claimed to have six members of the Los Brovos motorcycle gang working for him -- said it wouldn't be a problem.
"We're taking over collections in this city. These guys mean business. We're not messing around anymore," he told Chen in the recording.
Armstrong told court his collections protocol was a simple one.
"The first visit is a nice visit. After that, if I have to break legs, I break legs," he said.
Chen was later caught on wiretap talking to her boyfriend, who criticized her for bringing in the heavies-for-hire to settle her business problems.
"You're a lawyer. Play on the level. These guys will tear you apart," the man said.
Armstrong said he also went to Dunn's home to collect money owing to Chen, but settled for grabbing the man's cellphone, satellite transmitter and stereo equipment as "juice", or insurance.
Armstrong then forced Dunn to sign a bogus bill of sale for the seized goods. Dunn's mother was home at the time, although Armstrong said he never made any threats or used violence.
"I intimidate people. My size and looks are usually enough to get what I want," he said.
Greenberg said yesterday it is "merely fortuitous" that Chen's clients weren't injured.
This is the second time Chen has been convicted of a crime. She was given a one-year conditional sentence in 2004 after being caught trying to smuggle an illegal alien into the United States. The Supreme Court refused to hear an appeal of her case.
www.mikeoncrime.com
PREVIOUS
