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The judge found that Mocanu never had the intention of advancing the appeals, all of which were submitted after the paralegal or his Newmarket-based firm, Ticket Justice, entered guilty pleas on behalf of the defendants. Instead, Strezos determined, the goal of the ploy — flagged by city of É«É«À² prosecutors but which may have also been active in other jurisdictions — was to drag out proceedings until two years after the date the driver was charged. That’s the point after which provincial regulations dictate demerit points can no longer be applied to driving records.Ìý

The strategy, which was successful in more than 100 cases, amounted to an “abuse of the appeals process” and put public safety at risk, Strezos found, because convictions wouldn’t be factored into bail or sentencing decisions for subsequent charges the defendants might face, including impaired driving. It also prevented insurers from having a full picture of drivers’ records, and forced the court to spend “countless hours” on baseless appeals.Ìý

“There was never any intention to proceed with the appeals. Not one of them,” the judge wrote, noting that Mocanu conceded as much during hearings. The justice called the scheme a “pervasive and sustained” practice that “never should have happened.”Ìý

Strezos’ rulings didn’t make a determination about whether Mocanu’s scheme amounted to a crime. According toÌý, Brampton prosecutors allege that Mocanu and his associates have also been filing “frivolous and meritless appeals” in the Region of Peel. The justice of the peaceÌýin that decision also didn’t make any conclusion about whether the paralegal’s actions were criminal, but wrote that in general filing meritless appeals for an improper purpose “could be viewed as the criminal offence of obstruction of justice.”Ìý

The city of É«É«À² declined to answer the Star’s questions about the rulings, saying related cases were still before the courts.Ìý

Mocanu, who was born in 1984 and got his legal licence in 2008, didn’t return requests for comment.Ìý

É«É«À² prosecutors noticed an unusual pattern in HTA appeals making their way through the courts in January, according to Strezos. Defendants would “plead guilty, appeal and then, do nothing.” The city brought a motion for directions to the court, andÌýin response, Strezos ordered on March 25 that the suspicious appeals be heard together.

On June 11, after four days of hearings, he dismissed them.Ìý

According to the judge’s decisions, Mocanu or an associate paralegal would enter a guilty plea to the HTA offence, or a lesser charge. Shortly after, they would file an appeal that stated their client was not guilty or wanted a new trial, or that vaguely asserted the reasons for the appeal would be revealed by transcripts of the court proceedings. However, transcripts were never filed as part of the appeals.Ìý

Provincial regulations mandate that convictions and demerit points aren’t recorded on driving records until a conviction is “sustained on appeal.” So as long as the appeals were before the courts Mocanu’s clients wouldn’t face penalties.Ìý

In addition to dismissing the Mocanu appeals, Strezos tossed 18 others filed after his April ruling by an “unknown agency” that bore “curious coincidences” to the Mocanu cases. (Mocanu denied involvement in the newer appeals.) But by the date of the judge’s ruling the two-year period had already elapsed for 136 of the 242 convictions, meaning appellants in those cases won’t receive demerit points.

“Mr. Mocanu … undermined operation of the demerit point system in Ontario by filing sham appeals,” the judge wrote.

While the city of É«É«À² asked the courts to launch a full inquiry into the scheme, Strezos declined, saying the Law Society of Ontario is responsible for regulating paralegals.

A spokesperson for the law society said it couldn’t disclose whether it was investigating Mocanu, and the results of any probe are only made public if they lead to regulatory action. If a paralegal is found to have committed misconduct, the Law Society Tribunal can order penalties including suspension or revocation of their licence. Mocanu has had his licence suspended twice since 2023 for misconduct that appears unrelated to the appeal scheme.

Daniel Brown, lead counsel at É«É«À²-based Daniel Brown Law LLP and adjunct lecturer at Queen’s University, predicted the law society would take cases like Mocanu’s “quite seriously” because the appeals had “the potential to disrupt the entire provincial offences scheme.”

But Brown said the province could easily prevent bad faith HTA appeals by amending the regulations to start the two-year time limit for recording demerit points at the date of the conviction, instead of the date of the offence. That would reduce defendants’ incentive to delay their conviction.

A spokesperson for the Ministry of Transportation didn’t say whether the province intends to close the loophole.Ìý