Law Society disciplinary hearing reveals new details about the case of Maria Mikhailitchenko, an accused fraudster wanted on a Canada-wide warrant
A Toronto lawyer wanted on a Canada-wide warrant has been found guilty of professional misconduct, according to a disciplinary ruling that sheds a lot more light on the mysterious case.
Maria Mikhailitchenko disappeared nearly two years ago, leaving behind a trail of suspicious bank transactions that triggered multiple investigations. In September 2024, Toronto police asked for the public’s help to track her down, announcing she’d been charged with fraud, theft and breach of trust.
But a ruling released last week by the Law Society of Ontario provides the clearest picture yet of what was happening behind the scenes before Mikhailitchenko suddenly vanished — including that she was accused of misappropriating close to $3.5 million from numerous clients.
The disciplinary tribunal also found that Mikhailitchenko used her various trust accounts to facilitate “dishonest or fraudulent” transactions totalling tens of millions of dollars — all part of a “scheme” to “misappropriate or misapply funds and to enrich” at least one corporate client.
Although Mikhailitchenko was in contact with the Law Society at the outset of its investigation, she ceased all communication in March 2024. Police confirmed to TorontoToday that her arrest warrant remains active.
“The Law Society is unaware of the respondent’s whereabouts,” the decision reads.
A resident of Thornhill, Mikhailitchenko operated her own law practice in north Toronto, near Bathurst Street and Wilson Avenue. She specialized in civil litigation, family law and real estate.
By late-2023, complaints about her behaviour had begun to pile up.
Simply put, the tribunal found that Mikhailitchenko used her trust accounts to deposit tens of millions of dollars worth of cheques on behalf of an unnamed corporate client, then promptly paid out those funds — including portions to herself — before the cheques cleared.
“The evidence establishes that the respondent knowingly permitted her trust accounts to be used for large financial transactions unrelated to legal services,” the ruling reads. “[She] disbursed funds from a trust account before ensuring deposits had been cleared, failed to maintain sufficient trust balances, and used other clients’ funds to make up for trust fund shortages.”
The ruling details four specific instances in which Mikhailitchenko “used other client funds to attempt to cover the shortfall.”
In one case, the principal of a numbered company retained her to register a second mortgage worth $526,000. Although Mikhailitchenko received the proceeds in trust, she did not advance the funds to the client.
In another instance, two people retained her to act in the sale of an estate property. After the property was sold, Mikhailitchenko sent a letter to the clients.
“She stated that the net sales proceeds of $771,302 were owing to the estate and that a cheque was enclosed,” the ruling reads. “No such cheque was enclosed.”
All told, the tribunal found Mikhailitchenko “knowingly misappropriated” approximately $3.5 million from her clients.
“She actively participated in these improper transactions and could not have been blind to the implications and the consequences,” the tribunal ruled.
The tribunal found Mikhailitchenko guilty of five counts of professional misconduct. A hearing to determine her punishment has not been set.
For lawyers, the penalty for professional misconduct can range from a reprimand to license revocation.