Lawyer disbarred for Roma ripoff

“Ms. Jaszi’s misconduct is extremely serious,” lawyer Barbara Murchie wrote in a Dec. 3 decision on behalf of a three-member disciplinary panel, which had examined the files of 13 clients.

“It is the kind of conduct that sullies the reputation of the entire profession. Not only could she not be trusted to the ends of the Earth, Ms. Jaszi could not be trusted at all.”

Jaszi, who represented herself in the disciplinary proceedings, did not return the Star’s requests for comment. A Law Society spokeswoman said the matter has been referred to the police, as Jaszi was found to have “knowingly overbilled” Legal Aid Ontario in the amount of $1,026, which she was ordered to repay.

The decision to revoke Jaszi’s licence was praised among members of the Canadian Roma community and comes just months after the high-profile case of Viktor Hohots, who was found to have failed to adequately represent thousands of his Roma clients over a number of years. The Law Society suspended his licence for five months and imposed a two-year prohibition on practicing refugee law.

“The immediate reaction from the Roma community was one of happiness for the acknowledgement of accountability, that finally, one of these lawyers has received the proper punishment,” said Gina Csanyi-Robah, co-founder of the Canadian Romani Alliance and former director of Toronto’s Roma Cultural Centre, of Jaszi’s penalty.

Jaszi failed her Roma clients from Hungary in a number of ways, the panel noted. Most importantly, she did not prepare accurate and complete Personal Information Forms (PIF), which the panel said “are the most important documents in the refugee application process and failure to complete them properly can significantly impact the outcome of the application for refugee status.”

Jaszi would ask clients to sign blank PIFs, and she would then fill them out herself before submitting them, Murchie wrote. Jaszi also failed to attend hearings before the Immigration and Refugee Board, leaving clients unrepresented.

She also did not have the documents translated so the clients could ensure their accuracy and file them in a timely manner. As a result, four of her clients received notices of abandonment regarding their applications, the panel found.

Jaszi told the panel in written submissions that she never lied or defrauded a client or lied to the Immigration and Refugee Board.

“She stated that she made mistakes but did not have fraudulent intent when she did so,” Murchie wrote. “Ms. Jaszi also stated that in the past few years her health has not been good and that has impacted her ability to serve her clients with the same intensity as before. She maintained that revocation was too harsh a penalty.”

Instead, Jaszi said a more appropriate penalty would be the same punishment given to Hohots. But in handing down its penalty to Jaszi, the panel said there had been no finding of lack of integrity or knowingly overbilling in the Hohots case and that he had co-operated with the Law Society.

The disciplinary panel noted that Jaszi’s clients were particularly vulnerable. Roma have reported being subjected to oppression and racism in Hungary and have experienced difficulties in the past in having their refugee claims approved in Canada.

A recent study conducted by researchers at Osgoode Hall Law School and Western University found there was “institutional bias” in Canada’s asylum system against Roma people.

Many of Jaszi’s clients had minimal education and did not speak English or French, the panel said.

“These were clients for whom the stakes were high,” Murchie wrote. “If their applications were denied, they would be deported back to Hungary.”

One client, Janos Balazs, said in a victim-impact statement to the Law Society that he and his family were indeed deported.

“Our lawyer . . . was only interested in money from legal aid and not in our fate,” he wrote. “We only met her three times during the four years. She wasn’t willing to pick up her own phone.

“I wrote to you because if there is a chance, I want to go back with my family (to Canada), because here, in Hungary, racism is too big, and they really oppress us Roma people. If you can, help me to go back as soon as possible.”

With files from Nicholas Keung