Alberta Court Grants Mareva Injunction & Receivership Order to Protect Tallcree First Nation Trust Beneficiaries by Matthew Sammon, Jessica Kras, Natalie Workewych, July 16, 2026, Lenczner Slaght LLP
Lenczner Slaght’s Matthew Sammon, Jessica Kras, and Natalie Workewych, acting alongside OKT LLP, have secured significant interim relief for Chief Rupert Meneen and Tallcree First Nation in ongoing litigation to recover and protect assets of the Tallcree First Nation Trust.
Chief Meneen commenced legal proceedings against Jeffrey R.W. Rath Professional Corporation and Jeffrey Rath personally arising from their administration of the Tallcree First Nation Trust.
Mr. Rath is an Alberta lawyer who previously acted for Tallcree First Nation. Jeffrey R.W. Rath Professional Corporation is the corporation through which Mr. Rath carries on his legal practice.
The Trust was established in 2017 to hold and distribute settlement funds for certain members of Tallcree First Nation, who are the beneficiaries of the Trust. Mr. Rath’s professional corporation served as the sole trustee of the Trust until June 26, 2026.
Chief Meneen’s proceeding seeks a range of remedies addressing serious concerns about Mr. Rath’s administration of the Trust, including orders to protect Trust assets, require Mr. Rath to account for charges made against the Trust, and recover Trust funds.
The Alberta Court of King’s Bench has already granted significant interim relief to protect the Trust and its beneficiaries.
On June 26, 2026, Justice Parker ordered that Mr. Rath’s professional corporation be removed as trustee. Justice Parker appointed BMO Trust Company in its place. Justice Parker made preliminary findings that there are strong indications of misconduct by Mr. Rath and his professional corporation. He referred to “concerning and troubling amounts” charged to the Trust by Jeffrey R.W. Rath Professional Corporation and a “lack of disclosure, transparency, and frankly concealment” by Mr. Rath and his professional corporation. Justice Parker also ordered Mr. Rath and his professional corporation to disclose the location of Trust assets (money), pass their accounts, preserve Trust records, and refrain from charging their legal costs to the Trust.
The case returned to Court on July 10, 2026, after financial records disclosed by Mr. Rath and his professional corporation revealed that $8,518,075 had been paid from the Trust to them shortly after the Alberta Court of Appeal confirmed that those funds belonged to the beneficiaries.
In light of these facts, Justice Marion granted an interim Mareva order freezing the worldwide assets of Mr. Rath and his professional corporation up to $8,518,075.
Yesterday, on July 15, 2026, Justice Gill extended and expanded the Mareva injunction and granted Chief Meneen’s request that an investigative receiver be appointed to trace the funds removed from the Trust. Justice Gill found a real risk that Mr. Rath would continue taking steps that could interfere with efforts to locate the missing funds, including due to Mr. Rath’s changing the Trust auditors without notice, and the timing of that change. Justice Gill also relied upon evidence suggestive of the misappropriation of trust funds from another First Nation trust account, raising concerns about a broader pattern involving First Nations trust accounts.
Chief Meneen and the Tallcree First Nation will take all necessary and lawful steps to protect the rights and interests of the Trust’s beneficiaries, many of whom are minors, and to pursue appropriate recovery of Trust assets from all responsible parties.
Lawyers
Matthew Sammon
Jessica Kras
Natalie Workewych
Media Contact
Sarah Huynh
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Chief Rupert Meneen v Jeffrey RW Rath@Songstress28:
New statement from Sturgeon Lake Cree Nation re: Alberta Prosperity Separatist leader Jefferey Rath who is also the lawyer/trustee for minors Cows & Plows trust fund. This is on the heels of Rath’s assets being frozen by a judge last week while he’s investigated for misallocating millions of dollars of trust funds with Tall Cree First Nation. Here is a man who is championing separatism, asking people to have confidence in him and the separatist cause, while trampling First Nations rights in the process.
Statement released today: NOTICE TO MEMBERS
Following Sturgeon Lake Cree Nation’s cows and ploughs settlement, the members’ per capita distributions were placed in a trust fund. The PCDs for our minors were to be held in that trust fund until our children (born by 2017) turned 18. Jeffrey RW Rath Corporation (Rath PC) is and has always been the sole trustee of these funds. This means he is responsible for holding them in trust for our children until they turn 18.
In 2024 and 2025, 18-year-old members started to report discrepancies in the PCD amounts (below the original PCD or excluding interest). We pursued a court application to remove Rath PC as trustee and for him to pass accounts. We are working to expedite this application given the discovery this week.
On July 13, 2026, we became aware of documents suggesting that Jeffrey R.W. Rath Professional Corporation, operating as Rath & Company, withdrew approximately $12 million from Sturgeon Lake Cree Nation’s minors trust in 2023 and 2024. We discovered these documents through disclosure in the Tallcree First Nation litigation against Rath PC, reported in the media. This was the first we learned of these withdrawals.
We had not seen these before, have not seen financial statements for the minors trust since 2021 and received only financial summaries in 2022 and 2023. We have no records for 2024, 2025 and 2026. We have requested financial statements since 2021. We have not received a response.
We are deeply concerned about these withdrawals. We are taking all steps possible to protect the trust money and track, trace and secure any illegal withdrawal from the trust.
Finally, some members have reported that Rath & Company has advised that the Nation has the trust money. This is incorrect. Rath PC remains the sole trustee, at present, of the minors trust fund.
On June 26, following similar discoveries, Tallcree First Nation obtained a court order removing Rath PC as the trustee on their Nation’s trust. On July 10 and July 15, they received and extended a Mareva order to freeze Rath’s assets up to $15 million (the amount said to be withdrawn from their trust) and, on June 15, Tallcree received a receivership order which appoints a receiver to track and trace these funds.
We would like to assure our members that we have watched these developments carefully and are acting accordingly. We will update members as soon as we can in the circumstances.
Sturgeon Lake Cree Nation Leadership.
@cspotweet:
More allegations coming to light against Jeffrey Rath..
‘Sturgeon Lake Cree Nation has now raised concerns about $12 million in withdrawals from the Sturgeon Lake Cree Nation Trust, including more than $11 million paid to Rath & Company as administrative fees and another $575,000 tied to legal expenses, according to an affidavit filed on Tuesday’
@MarioManelli_:
Throw the book at this monster. And the rest of the separatists can get sideswiped by the book on its way to Rath.
@Bratt_world:
He wrote a cease and desist to auditors
@Ash_Stewart_:
Latest: Another First Nation is questioning millions in alleged withdrawals from a trust overseen by Alberta separatist lawyer Jeffrey Rath and his professional corporation, court documents obtained by Global News reveal
@Bratt_world:
This is awful. And he is the best of the best apparently.
‘Pattern of behaviour’: Rath faces mounting questions over First Nation trusts by Ashleigh Stewart Global News July 15, 2026
Another First Nation is questioning millions in alleged withdrawals from a trust overseen by Alberta separatist lawyer Jeffrey Rath and his professional corporation, court documents obtained by Global News reveal.
The allegations from Sturgeon Lake Cree Nation emerged from material disclosed in a separate court battle between Rath and Tallcree First Nation. That case led a provincial judge on Friday to grant an interim Mareva order against Rath and Jeffrey R.W. Rath Professional Corporation, which operates as Rath & Company. The judge found reasonable grounds to believe assets could be moved or dissipated before judgment.
A Mareva order, also known as a freezing order, is an extraordinary pre-judgment remedy that prevents a defendant from transferring, hiding, or liquidating assets before a case is decided, allowing the collection of any eventual financial award.
During a hearing on the matter on Wednesday, Justice John Gill extended the Mareva order until Aug. 11 and granted a receivership order, putting an independent court officer in control of assets and records so the “missing” trust money can be traced and protected.
Referring to the Tallcree and Sturgeon Lake cases, Gill said, “This raises a concern about a pattern of behaviour by the respondents and the potential intermingling of trust assets.”
A co-founder of the Alberta Prosperity Project, Rath is a leading voice in the separatist movement and has long represented First Nations in landmark treaty settlements.
Rath now faces escalating, simultaneous legal challenges from two First Nations, each alleging that his firm charged trust fees they were never told about and withheld financial records that should have been disclosed earlier.
Those cases come on top of eight other First Nations that have been involved in court or Law Society proceedings against Rath, a Global News investigation found.
Sturgeon Lake Cree Nation has now raised concerns about $12 million in withdrawals from the Sturgeon Lake Cree Nation Trust, including more than $11 million paid to Rath & Company as administrative fees and another $575,000 tied to legal expenses, according to an affidavit filed on Tuesday by Chief Sheldon Sunshine. The trust distributed the settlement funds to beneficiaries and held the minors’ shares until they reached adulthood. Rath’s firm was the fund’s sole trustee.
Rath has not responded to the allegations.
The latest fight is tied to a long-running legal battle between Sturgeon Lake and Rath, and follows a February 2025 Alberta Court of Appeal ruling that upheld an order that Rath could not enforce the 20 per cent contract behind his $28.6-million fee from the nation’s Treaty 8 settlement.
The Nation has also been fighting to remove Rath as the sole trustee of the trust, alleging incorrect payouts, difficulty obtaining information, rude treatment by Rath & Company staff, and incomplete financial statements.
The allegations from Tallcree and Sturgeon Lake have not been proven in court.
Like Tallcree, Sturgeon Lake alleges it has been unable to obtain financial statements for its trust. The last financial statement it received covered 2021. Subsequent years produced only “financial summaries” for 2022 and 2023, despite multiple requests, court documents allege.
It was through material filed in the Tallcree court case on Monday that Sturgeon Lake learned auditors were questioning $12 million in withdrawals from its own trust paid to Rath & Company, according to Chief Sunshine’s affidavit.
Sturgeon Lake’s lawyers received the Mareva injunction order as well as four letters from Tallcree’s lawyers, revealing questions from financial auditors Doane Grant Thornton to Rath about the trust withdrawals.
They zeroed in on four withdrawals: two from Jan. 23, 2024, for $9.8 million and $1.67 million paid to Rath & Company as administrative fees, and two 2023 withdrawals for almost $500,000 and $75,000 described by Rath as legal expenses for trust management.
According to correspondence with auditors in the court documents, Rath states that the $11.47 million was a retroactive administrative fee charge for 2017 to 2024 — based on a review of administrative fees charged by similar trusts, which he says were “well within the range” of those fees — and permitted by the trust agreement.
Sunshine argues Rath’s corporation drafted the trust agreement.
In a December 2024 email to Grant Thornton, Rath says external legal expenses were necessary to pay law firms such as Parlee McLaws and Reynolds Mirth.
But when Rath provided invoices, the auditors noted, both firms described their services as reviewing the retainer agreement between Sturgeon Lake and Rath & Company — the same lawsuit that Sturgeon Lake had brought against him.
Separate court documents obtained by Global News indicate that Parlee McLaws sued Rath in 2024 for around $140,000, claiming that Rath and his company had failed to respond to repeated requests to pay invoices for legal services they had carried out for him, dating back to November 2021. Three months later, the case was dropped. Global News was unable to determine why.
When Grant Thornton asked for an arm’s-length legal opinion on whether the withdrawals qualified as administration costs and other reasonable expenses under the terms of the trust agreement, Rath refused, saying his own reading was sufficient, according to letters from Rath to the auditors included in Sunshine’s affidavit.
When the auditors pushed back, saying this was insufficient audit evidence, Rath continued to disagree. He labelled the request out of scope and unnecessary and threatened to terminate them if they did not complete the audit without it, according to correspondence included in Chief Sunshine’s affidavit.
The arrogance and bullying of lawyer Rath never ceases to amaze me.
“At this stage, we feel it is incumbent on you to meet your responsibilities and complete the Audit without any further delay and without the need for an outside legal opinion,” Rath allegedly wrote.
“[…] If you do not agree to complete the Audit on the terms we have outlined – consider this letter as our Notice of your Termination as Auditor of the Trust and our expectation of your confidentiality under the Audit Engagement Agreement.”
Sturgeon Lake says it is still awaiting news about the $28.5 million fee. Rath is allowed to seek a fair and reasonable fee, but Chief Sunshine says no review date has been set. In May, the Nation filed an application to have the money paid into court.
Rath, however, had previously indicated that he no longer has most of the money.Why am I not surprised? I bet theh money is in Trump’s big pockets, down payment for his and or Musk’s interference in and after the separatist UCP and raging racist referendum questions in October, to use as justification to abuse and threaten, perhaps bomb Canada.Court records from 2022 indicated that litigation funders had advanced Rath $10 million for the Sturgeon Lake case and he repaid them $23.3 million after settlement funds were received. Sturgeon Lake has no records of that payment or funding agreement, documents indicate.
In his affidavit, Sunshine — whose council met urgently on Monday evening to discuss the audit letters —is “deeply concerned” about the revelations.
“[Rath] claims to be a treaty expert and helping all these First Nations, yet … looking back on our court cases and our dealings with him, it was more [him] taking advantage of the situation,” he told Global News in June.
In his affidavit, he said he worries “many children will never see that money from the settlement and that our Nation will never see any return of the disallowed contingency fee following the eventual review.”
The Sturgeon Lake case parallels the dispute between Rath and Tallcree First Nation.
After courts cut his 20-per cent fee on Tallcree’s $57.6 million settlement, Rath’s corporation was ordered to refund $8.5 million to the trust. Court filings later alleged Rath PC charged more than $6 million to the same trust in 2024, and bank records showed an $8.5 million cheque from a trust account payable to “Jeffrey R.W. Rath Professional.”
In his defence against Tallcree’s latest claims, Rath denies wrongdoing and says audited financial statements identify all fees and costs charged to the trust and that all money coming in and out was disclosed in accordance with the trust agreement. The trust agreement provision gives the trustee broad powers, including moving trust property within Canada and “charg[ing] for services performed by them, including the services of acting as Trustee.”
Rath did not oppose the extension of the Mareva order on Wednesday.
In his reasons for granting the extension of the order, Gill said there was a strong prima facie case that Rath had made “improper payments out of the trust” and that he personally had assisted “in a breach of fiduciary duty.”
Referring specifically to the $8.5 million cheque taken from the Tallcree trust, he said it was “made in direct contravention of the orders of Justice Lee and the Court of Appeal.”
“There is also a real risk that the respondents have been actively taking steps, and will continue to take steps, to frustrate the process of locating the missing money,” Gill said.
With files from Adam MacVicar and Ken MacGillivray.
Alberta judge extends order freezing separatist lawyer’s assets in legal dispute with First Nation, Jeff Rath ordered to account for assets, calls allegations false by Michelle Bellefontaine, CBC News, Jul 15, 2026
A judge agreed on Wednesday to extend and expand an order that temporarily freezes the assets of lawyer Jeff Rath, one of the leaders of Alberta’s separatist movement.
Rath and his law firm must provide lawyers for Tallcree First Nation and Chief Rupert Meneen with sworn evidence identifying their assets and where they are located by July 27.
Rath and his firm are ordered to provide sworn evidence and financial statements by Aug. 4 that accounts for all the fees, charges and amounts paid out of the Tallcree First Nation’s trust account.
Rath has been further ordered to undergo examination under oath about his assets on or before Aug. 11.
The order is in effect until 60 days after the judge makes a final ruling in the matter; or until the Tallcree First Nation either discontinues the matter or has it dismissed; or if Rath provides $15 million to the receiver to be held in trust pending the outcome of the legal proceedings.
The decision is the latest chapter in a years-long legal battle between Rath and the Tallcree First Nation in northern Alberta.
The First Nation alleges Rath misappropriated millions of dollars in trust funds that his firm has overseen since 2017. Rath calls the allegations false.
In an email to Meneen’s lawyer, he said the First Nation agreed the fee arrangement was reasonable when it was approved by the band council.
A temporary Mareva injunction was initially granted by Alberta Court of King’s Bench Justice Michael Marion during an emergency hearing on Friday. The judge agreed that a strong prima facie case existed to grant the temporary order.
Mareva orders are rarely used legal tools used to freeze assets if there is a concern that a respondent in a legal proceeding will move or hide assets prior to a judgement by the court.
Alberta Court of King’s Bench Justice John Gill extended the injunction on Wednesday, telling the court he agreed with Marion’s reasons for granting the initial order.
Gill also appointed an investigative receiver to trace money that was removed from the trust.
WATCH | Judge freezes Alberta lawyer’s assets in connection with legal work:
Alberta judge freezes lawyer Jeffrey Rath’s accounts in connection to legal work
July 14|
Duration 2:48A judge has temporarily frozen Rath’s bank accounts in connection to work he did for the Tallcree First Nation. The band has alleged Rath misused millions of dollars he was managing for the nation in recent years.
Matthew Sammon, the lawyer representing Meneen, said in a written statement to CBC News that his client “will take all necessary and lawful steps to protect the rights and interests of the trust’s beneficiaries, many of whom are minors, and to pursue appropriate recovery of trust assets from all responsible parties.”
CBC News has reached out to Rath and his lawyers for reaction.
In 2017, the Tallcree First Nation made Rath’s law firm the sole trustee of a trust holding the $57.6-million settlement the First Nation received from the federal government after the two parties settled an agricultural benefits claim.
Rath levied an $11.5-million or 20 per cent fee for his services.
The First Nation asked the court in 2018 if that amount was reasonable. The subsequent ruling found the fees were excessive, a conclusion that was upheld by the Court of Appeal of Alberta. Rath has since been ordered to return $8.5 million to the trust.
The First Nation has made numerous attempts to get the money back.
Mareva order
According to court documents, Meneen asked for the rarely used Mareva order over concerns that the funds would be “dissipated, transferred, concealed or placed beyond reach before this matter can be heard in the ordinary course.”
Rath’s firm was removed as the trustee on June 26. A judge appointed BMO Trust Company to take over.
Account statements forwarded by BMO Trust Company show that in February 2025, $8.5 million was deposited into an investment account. Rath’s firm had opened the account to comply with a judge’s order to hold the money separately pending the outcome of an appeal by the Tallcree First Nation to have the money go back to them.
On Nov. 4, the First Nation’s appeal was dismissed by the Court of Appeal of Alberta, which meant the original order to have the money repaid to the trust account was upheld.
Bank statements show that 13 days later, Rath’s firm wrote a cheque for $8.5 million on the trust account to itself.
The trust’s financial statements for 2024 and 2025 were released to the First Nation on June 1 in response to a court order.
The First Nation said in court documents that was the first time it learned Rath had allegedly charged the trust other administrative and professional fees totalling $6,012,960.
Alberta separatist lawyer Jeffrey Rath won’t oppose court order freezing $8.5-million in assets by Matthew Scace, July 15, 2026, the Globe and Mail
Jeffrey Rath, a lawyer and prominent voice in Alberta’s separatist movement, won’t oppose the extension of a court order that has temporarily frozen more than $8.5-million in assets belonging to him and his law firm after a First Nation alleged the misappropriation of funds that he was overseeing as the band’s trustee.
Edward Halt, counsel for Mr. Rath, wrote in a Tuesday letter addressed to Court of King’s Bench Justice John Gill that his client will not file evidence in advance of a court hearing scheduled for Wednesday morning, where the judge will consider whether to extend the freezing order.
The order, known as a Mareva injunction, was issued last Friday by Court of King’s Bench Justice Michael Marion. The order is a rare but powerful legal tool that freezes a person or company’s assets – often to prevent them from moving money before a judgment is made.
Justice Marion made his ruling last week in response to an application by Northern Alberta’s Tallcree First Nation to temporarily remove Mr. Rath and his company, Rath Professional Corp., from overseeing the band’s roughly $15-million trust.
Mr. Rath’s public profile has ballooned over the past year as a vocal advocate for Alberta’s separatist movement. While he is one of dozens of people in a fragmented ecosystem of influencers, advertisers and groups pushing for sovereignty, his numerous meetings with U.S. State Department officials over Alberta’s potential secession have made him a key figurehead.
Currently, separatists are trying to muster support ahead of Alberta’s Oct. 19 referendum where voters will be asked to pick between remaining in Canada or beginning the legal process to hold a second, binding referendum on independence.
According to court documents first reported by The Globe and Mail, Tallcree alleges that Mr. Rath moved $8.5-million in November, 2025, from the trust to his private corporation – the same amount an Alberta Court of King’s Bench judge ordered him to repay Tallcree over a previous fee dispute.
The funds from the trust – created after the nation reached a settlement with the federal government in 2017 over broken agricultural promises made around the time of Confederation – are meant to be distributed to Tallcree members when they turn 18 years old.
In a separate document filed on Tuesday, Mr. Rath’s counsel proposes circumstances under which the Mareva order would be lifted.
One suggests the order continue until Mr. Rath deposits $5.5-million into a court account or the trust account belonging to Mr. Halt’s firm, Peacock Linder Halt & Mack LLP. The document says Mr. Rath recently deposited $3-million into the firm’s trust account.
It otherwise suggests the order be rescinded once Mr. Rath provides “sufficient alternative security in a form and amount as determined by this court” or agreed to by Tallcree First Nation, the band that proposed the freezing order.
Separately, Mr. Rath’s counsel proposes that he deliver records by July 24 for all payments in and out of bank accounts from the trust between Feb. 1, 2025 to July 2, 2026, including the basis for each payment.
The Alberta NDP on Tuesday called on Premier Danielle Smith to revoke Mr. Rath’s United Conservative Party membership to “make it clear that separatism has no place in her party.”
Mr. Rath received a standing ovation at last year’s UCP convention when he asked the packed crowd how many of them support independence.
Sam Blackett, spokesperson for Premier Smith, pointed The Globe to the party for comment. An unsigned statement from UCP communications said the party does not confirm the membership of any members and would not comment on Mr. Rath given that the case is before the courts.
***
@ruggedbroad.bsky.social:
Gosh, Rath involved in fraud with a FN and now this.
No wonder the UCP govt lack consultation. Their people obviously have no respect for treaty or FNs. I’m even more disgusted.
@thebreakdownab.bsky.social:
First Nation in Alberta sues its former lawyer, alleges wrongdoing in sole source ed contract for construction of addiction recovery centre involving Sam Mraiche…
First Nation’s lawsuit against its ex-lawyer links Sam Mraiche to Alberta recovery site procurement by Tom Cardoso and Carrie Tait, July 15, 2026, The Globe and Mail
A First Nation in Alberta is suing its former lawyer over alleged irregularities in the procurement of a provincially funded addiction recovery centre, saying that he worked with Edmonton businessman Sam Mraiche and a former chief to sole-source a $35-million contract for the facility.
The Tsuut’ina Nation, a Denecommunity with roughly 2,500 citizens located near Calgary, filed a lawsuit in the Alberta Court of King’s Bench last week against former general counsel Terry Braun alleging negligence, breaches of contract and fiduciary duties, and other wrongdoing in connection with the construction project.
Tsuut’ina says its recovery centre, which was being built by contractor Melewka Homes Ltd., has been marred by “red flags,” including circumvented procurement processes, overpayments and duplicated invoices. It also alleges thatformer nation chief Roy Whitney and his family stood to benefit personally from the project.
The nation also alleges that Mr. Mraiche, a medical-supply executive and entrepreneur, played an undisclosed role in its construction project. For nearly a year and a half, Mr. Mraiche has been at the centre of a separate health care procurement affair that has shaken Alberta politicsand prompted investigations by the RCMP and the province’s auditor-general.
According to the nation’s statement of claim, Mr. Braun directed that Tsuut’ina’s correspondence be sent to Mr. Mraiche during the project’s early days, and an entity connected to Mr. Mraiche allegedly paid nearly $50,000 to “support community initiatives” in the First Nation.
Neither Mr. Mraiche, Mr. Whitney nor Melewka Homes are named as defendants in the lawsuit, and they did not respond to a request for comment from The Globe and Mail.
Mr. Braun, who has not yet filed a statement of defence, did not respond to a request for comment. The allegations have not been tested in court.
Mr. Mraiche first came to widespread public attention as a result of a wrongful dismissal lawsuit filed in early 2025 by Athana Mentzelopoulos, the former chief executive officer of Alberta Health Services, who was fired by Premier Danielle Smith’s government. Ms. Mentzelopoulos’s lawsuit raised concerns about her agency’s contracting processes and alleged ties between senior Alberta government officials and private businesses, including some owned by Mr. Mraiche. He has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing in connection to the controversy.
The Tsuut’ina lawsuit marks yet another complication for Ms. Smith’s signature addiction treatment initiative. The province has earmarked up to $350-million for the construction of 11 recovery centres, several of which are on Indigenous land. The government has previously said that once they are operational, the centres will be able to offer care to more than 2,000 people each year.
Three Indigenous communities selected to receive provincial funding for a recovery facility – Tsuut’ina, the Enoch Cree Nation and the Métis Nation of Alberta – each hired Melewka Homes to build their recovery centres. Since then, however, the construction company has become tangled in a court dispute with a former business partner and other parties, including Mr. Mraiche. The projects, which are at various stages of completion, are now mired in at least a dozen legal proceedings as builders, including Melewka Homes and its subcontractors, have allegedly gone unpaid.
Citing the continuing litigation, spokespersons for Tsuut’ina and the province’s Ministry of Mental Health and Addiction declined to comment.
Planning for the Tsuut’ina Nation’s recovery centre project began in 2023, according to the nation’s statement of claim.
The Alberta government, which is paying for the construction of Tsuut’ina’s recovery centre through grant funding distributed by its Ministry of Mental Health and Addiction, began discussing the project with the nation in April, 2023, court records show. A few months later, in early July, the nation and the province had signed a memorandum of understanding for a recovery facility, according to documents obtained by The Globe through an access to information request.
Later that month, Mr. Braun directed that the nation’s correspondence be shared with Mr. Mraiche, according to the lawsuit, allegedly writing: “Please share this e-mail with Sam.”
Tsuut’ina entered into a memorandum of understanding with Melewka Homes in August, according to the court filing. That document came “approximately four months” before a formal grant agreement with the province, and “before any competitive procurement process,” the lawsuit alleges.
The agreement between Tsuut’ina and Melewka Homes noted that the contractor had paid the nation $40,000 to “support community initiatives,” according to the statement of claim – but these funds were instead allegedly paid in three installments totalling $49,000 by an entity connected to Mr. Mraiche.
According to the lawsuit, Mr. Braun was aware of a connection between Mr. Mraiche and Melewka Homes as early as September, 2023, when he allegedly wrote that “Mraiche Holdings” was a “holding company” for Melewka Homes. Corporate filings reviewed by The Globe do not indicate that Mr. Mraiche or any businesses connected to him have ever had an ownership stake in the contractor.
In February, 2024, Tsuut’ina awarded the $35-million construction contract to Melewka Homes. According to the nation’s lawsuit, the project was awarded “contrary to the Nation’s legislation and procurement policy.” After the contract was signed, Mr. Braun allegedly “failed to act on repeated red flags,” including duplicated invoices and an internal warning in December, 2024, that the contract was “not being followed correctly.”
By mid-2025, Mr. Braun had allegedly directed payments totalling $17-million – roughly half the total value of the project – to Melewka Homes when only 10 per cent of the work had been completed.
Tsuut’ina also alleges that Mr. Braun, while working at the behest of Mr. Whitney, the nation’s former chief,disregarded the council’s directive demanding invoices and the return of $3.75-million in project funds from Melewka Homes. A majority ofTsuut’ina’s council, including its chief, was replaced during the nation’s November, 2025, elections.
The nation’s lawsuit makes several further allegations about Mr. Whitney: that he had been personally involved in discussions with Melewka Homes prior to entering into an agreement with the company, and that “certain members” of his family allegedly stood to “directly benefit” from a contract with the builder.
Mr. Braun left his job as Tsuut’ina’s general counsel last year.
“It is with mixed emotions that I share that I am no longer serving as General Counsel for the Tsuut’ina Nation,” he wrote on LinkedIn in December. His post did not provide a reason for his departure.
The Globe reported in March that Melewka Homes and its principals, father and son Lewis and John Semashkewich, were suing Mr. Mraiche and several others. They alleged that Mr. Mraiche was the undisclosed “directing mind” of AEHE Holding Corp., a business development and consulting company that had worked with Melewka Homes on recovery centres in three Indigenous communities, including Tsuut’ina. According to the lawsuit, Mr. Mraiche worked with others to withhold project payments until Melewka Homes agreed to pay him.
Mr. Mraiche has denied any wrongdoing in his statement of defence and said his involvement in AEHE Holding was limited to providing “casual, unofficial and informal business advice.”
Melewka Homes is itself being sued by AEHE Holding and its owner, Mohamed Eldassouki. Mr. Eldassouki alleged in a statement of claim filed last summer that Lewis Semashkewich used a forged share sale agreement to unlawfully obtain control of Mr. Eldassouki’s business and bank accounts. Lawyers for Mr. Eldassouki did not respond to a request for comment.
Mr. Semashkewich and Melewka Homes have denied any wrongdoing in their statement of defence.
With a report from Alanna Smith
@jekllnnhide.bsky.social:
Jeff Rath is a POS. Getting paid to pretend to be seditious.
@coolxenu.bsky.social:
No wonder these criminals want their own country.
This latest issue with transferring millions ($8.3M) from Tallcree FN trust fund to his own accounts should be immediately referred to @LawSocietyofAB. Its a sacred trust and this is extremely serious
@ratliw.bsky.social:
Don’t forget that the UCP removed much of the Law Society’s power to punish lawyers, specifically to protect him.
@trueoak.bsky.social:
Need to ban all the gatekeepers!
(Except when protecting people from books, renewable energy, transgender people and bike lanes)
@LindaMah183080:
10 cases! How is he able to continue to practice law? Is he on Dani’s payroll?
@WillyJim6:
Apparently the gears of separatism require a lot of grease from greasy people
@stephthethird.bsky.social:
That fat, seditious fuck can piss off to a Florida swamp where he belongs. We are a treaty nation, and the Indigenous owners of our land have spoken.
@glassrod57.bsky.social:
All it takes for evil to flourish is for good people to say nothing! It is not enough to wait for politicians to stop this nonsense. Every citizen has to challenge it every day, against every single person that spouts this nonsense. If you look the other way you are endorsing their message!
@justfuntoday.bsky.social:
Every time I see that bargain-bin Boss Hogg I have to gag. What a sad excuse for a human being.
@fluxliner.bsky.social:
I’d love to see that Fucker in PRISON :-)
@barrhavenist.bsky.social:
Sure he sucks but Mark Carney is by far the bigger threat and currently in power
@wallykibler.bsky.social:
Far Right Separatist, Lawyer to the convoy insurrection and stealing First Nation Funding
Why’s this scumbag not in jail
@adithyar.bsky.social:
White nationalism is driving the agenda everywhere. It just operates under different names in different Western countries. Countries with centrist governments are moving incrementally rightward, countries with right-wing governments are going mask-off fascist.
@Frreedom4All:
So he’s a criminal thug just like his obese orange pedophile idol below the 49th parallel! Good to know that looks aren’t always deceiving.
@Rainytuesday3:
FACE of the separatist movement in alberta… of course he did all this shit
@gilmcgowan:
This is the guy who wants Albertans to trust him with the future of our province.
@ABDanielleSmith should immediately revoke his UCP membership. Separatists like @echipiuk are OK with this? Now Dennis Modry and @JeffreyRWRath are before Courts for alleged big money misappropriation. First one from First Nations and other from family.
@CanadianPro2:
Didn’t you get to see that ‘no one held accountable for any crimes, until after separation. ‘ post?
Here you go, sir.
@fakeezzie:
@echipiuk won’t criticize either of these alleged grifters, because she is in the same business, getting folks to hate Liberals and progressives. There is no money to be made, pointing her finger at two separatists, because they are all birds of a feather.
@MerlinofCanada:
Smith and her independence buddies want to steal First Nations land so i doubt that will happen.
@AdamAscended:
Really makes me wonder what else the separatist leaders have been misappropriating and why Danielle Smith caters to them so much, especially with expensive, costly referenda that no one campaigned for, instead of the representing the priorities of the majority of Albertans.
@LindaBowyer17:
Why hasn’t he been disbarred? And 💯 the money went to separatist nonsense.
@blueskytrekker.bsky.social:
Not the least bit surprising. My guess is there are other UCP members and other separatists that have used their positions to enrich themselves. Rath is just the one that’s been caught. So far anyway. Albertans and all Canadians deserve better.
jeeziz Christ, where are the @rcmpgrcpolice
@igrand5:
I am surprised he has not been disbarred yet by the Law Society of Alberta for his previous misconducts.He’s a white guy; self regulators of lawyers love white guys.
@lucasalami.bsky.social:
Jeff Rath caught possibly embezzling really goes to my theory that most of these losers are running from their own failures.
@Bratt_world:
This was Money held in trust. Aka future funds for children
@Mattl8241:
important context, the trust fund he allegedly stole money from? was for children
@MuhlbeierRobert:
Wasnt it alleged that same Jeffrey rath absconded with some of the donations to tamara lich and the convoylutists.what has become of that investigation.I know the tallcree reserve and it is poor and doesnt need a lightfingered settler like Rath stealing thier money.
‘Court and disciplinary records reviewed by Global News show that at least 10 First Nations have been involved in court or Law Society proceedings against Rath. One issued him a banishment notice, citing “concerns for [members’] physical safety.” Rath also faces a three-week trial in 2027 for allegedly overcharging one nation after a treaty settlement.’
@baddaywithacamera.bsky.social:
Morally bereft, traitorous, antivax convoy honker. Misery looks good on him.
@tryingtohelp.bsky.social:
Huge biggie- missing over $8 million in finds from a Trust fund? Needs to be referred to Alberta Law Society-Absconding with trust funds they usually take seriously but its Rath
@travisfigures.bsky.social:
This sounds like it should be investigated criminally as well… it’s well beyond just civil.
And once again we’ll get to see just how toothless the Law Society really is.many in Canada’s legal-judicial industry are racist and misogynistic; I also bet Law Society higher ups are also racist and misogynistic with many of them separatists. The lawyer self regulator’s job is to protect white misogynistic racist bigoted lawyers so that they keep abusing and stealing from those of us they are prejudiced against.
@jerryboyle.bsky.social:
This man is Alex Jones and nobody can convince me otherwise.
@rogerman99.bsky.social:
Grifters
Misogynists
Racists
Eugenecists
Liars
Meet the Alberta separatist, uh, “movement”.
@tryingtohelp.bsky.social:
Super biggie!!! So reassuring to hear this as it seems a First Nations trust fund is involved ! And ripping them off is so NOT ON!!!
@rubberduckcanuk.bsky.social:
Sure sounds like criminal behaviour, never mind un-lawyerly
@rlbca.bsky.social:
Alberta’s Minister for Indigenous Relations should also be investigated — as a matter of course. If there’s nothing shady, fine, but considering that the Tsuut’ina FN just filed a lawsuit, there may be more threads to pull.
@calvindragon.bsky.social:
Rath is an American.
@allan405.bsky.social:
Why do they always dress up as Americans in these stupid hats?
@3ghosts.bsky.social:
Like Ford, he can’t hide his greed.
@tridentyyz.bsky.social:
Nice hat, he looks like he belongs in that welfare State known as Texas. That would be a good place for him to move to. I’m sure they would welcome him with open arms and Healthcare that would bankrupt him.
@atheistmark12.bsky.social:
MAGA Maple christurd Nationalist
Jeffrey Rath fought for First Nations. Now former clients are fighting him by Ashleigh Stewart Global News, July 14, 2026
For decades, lawyer Jeffrey Rath built a career helping First Nations sue Canada and Alberta, securing treaty and claims settlements worth tens of millions of dollars.
A Global News investigation, however, found those victories were often followed by another fight: former clients challenging Rath over his fees, conduct and, in some cases, control over settlement money.
These court battles now shadow Rath’s new role as a legal architect of Alberta independence. The lawyer who told courts that governments had failed First Nations is now being accused by some First Nations of failing them himself.
Rath told Global News he “completely [denies] any inappropriate behaviour,” described the allegations as false and said he would likely pursue defamation actions against “relevant parties.”
He declined to answer specific questions from Global News as the matters remain before the court, but said: “Suffice it to say, clients are always happy when you spend years funding and pursuing cases on their behalf.”
“Many are unhappy when they are rewarded for the hard work of their legal counsel and are billed exactly what they agreed to pay on a percentage basis at the outset of the case.”
Court and disciplinary records reviewed by Global News show that at least 10 First Nations have been involved in court or Law Society proceedings against Rath.
One issued him a banishment notice, citing “concerns for [members’] physical safety.” Rath also faces a three-week trial in 2027 for allegedly overcharging one nation after a treaty settlement.
None of the allegations has been proven in court.
Rath was a prominent voice during the pandemic: he sued Alberta on behalf of clients over COVID-19 restrictions, briefly supported so-called “Freedom Convoy” organizers and helped build the Alberta Prosperity Project into what is arguably the province’s most visible separatist vehicle.
Once broadly aligned with Alberta Premier Danielle Smith’s sovereignty agenda, he reportedly attacks her from the independence wing of Alberta politics, arguing she has not moved far or fast enough toward separation.
Rath is also acting for Stay Free Alberta’s Mitch Sylvestre in the independence petition fight, which was halted after First Nations successfully argued that Alberta failed to consult them. In June, the Court of Appeal allowed Elections Alberta to count and report the signatures while the case continues.
Last month, Tallcree First Nation’s long-running fight with Rath escalated from a fee dispute into a battle over trust money that court documents indicated was earmarked for minors.
In 2021, Alberta courts slashed the 20 per cent fee Rath & Company charged for Tallcree’s $57.6-million Treaty 8 settlement, ordering an $8.5-million refund into the First Nation’s trust. According to an affidavit filed by Tallcree Chief Rupert Meneen, the trust distributed settlement money to beneficiaries and held minors’ shares until they reached adulthood. Rath’s firm was the fund’s sole trustee.
On July 10, a judge granted an interim Mareva order temporarily freezing up to $8.5 million in assets belonging to Rath and his firm, finding reasonable grounds to believe assets could be moved or dissipated before judgment. It remains in effect until July 15, when a further hearing is scheduled.
New court filings underpinning the injunction allege Rath withheld financial statements from the trust.
It was only through those filings, Tallcree’s lawyers say, that the nation’s leadership discovered he had charged it more than $6 million in 2024 — the same fiscal year Rath was required to repay the $8.5-million. Tallcree’s lawyers argue the trust may have effectively paid for much of its own repayment.JFC
“Challenging contingencies is uncommon. The fact that he’s had multiple challenges is a little unusual,” University of Alberta law professor Gerard Kennedy says.
Sturgeon Lake Cree Nation is embroiled in a similar fight with Rath.
In February 2025, Alberta’s Court of Appeal upheld a ruling that Rath could not enforce the 20 per cent contract behind his $28.6-million fee from the nation’s Treaty 8 settlement. Chief Sheldon Sunshine says he believes Rath is delaying a court review to determine a fair fee.
The First Nation is also seeking to remove Rath’s corporation as trustee of its own fund, which now holds money for minor beneficiaries, alleging incorrect payouts, difficulty getting information, rude treatment by Rath & Company staff and incomplete financial statements.
“He claims to be a treaty expert and helping all these First Nations, yet … looking back on our court cases and our dealings with him, it was more [him] taking advantage of the situation,” Sunshine says.
Several First Nations leaders, including Sunshine, say Rath is now publicly threatening the very rights he once fought to enforce.
“They’re thinking that … they could move into our house, rent a room and take that room with them when they leave, but that’s not happening,” Sunshine says.
The contingency question
Rath built his reputation by securing major legal victories for First Nations.
In 2005, he helped Mikisew Cree First Nation win a landmark Supreme Court ruling on the Crown’s duty to consult before decisions affecting treaty rights. He also appeared as an intervener in 2013 for Treaty One First Nations in a Supreme Court case over Canada’s failure.
He earned a Bachelor of Arts with honours in political science and government from the University of Alberta and a Bachelor of Laws with honours from the London School of Economics, according to his LinkedIn profile. Rath founded his law firm in the small town of Priddis in 1995.
In 2017, Rath represented Sturgeon Lake and Tallcree First Nation on their Treaty 8 agricultural benefits, or “cows and plows,” claim against Canada, enforcing 20 per cent contingency fees, should he prove successful.
Contingency fees shift the financial risk of litigation to lawyers, who are paid only if a case succeeds, allowing them to take a share of any settlement rather than bill hourly. The arrangements are more commonly used in personal injury litigation. In First Nations cases, supporters say the structure can help fund costly claims, but critics say it can turn treaty payouts into windfalls for lawyers when communities lack leverage or independent advice.
Both agreements were later challenged in court.
In 2020, Alberta Court of Queen’s Bench Justice Donald Lee found Rath & Company’s 20 per cent Tallcree contingency fee unreasonable. He later noted that Rath had kept no time records in the file and later produced reconstructed estimates worth less than $392,000 against the $11.5-million fee he charged — even with a $500-$600 hourly rate. Lee also found that “most of the work product found in the Record is actually simple emails created and signed by his paralegal.”
While the Court of Appeal rejected parts of Lee’s reasoning — including the suggestion that Rath’s lobbying and settlement work was not real legal work — it still dismissed Rath’s appeals and left the reduced fee in place.
“For a few months’ worth of work when it wasn’t your full-time job, [$11.5] million is not reasonable,” says Kennedy, who teaches the Tallcree lawsuit as part of his civil procedure curriculum.
“We generally do want to uphold contingency fees in the face of certainty, and because we know that some cases will otherwise not be brought.… Having said that, that one pushed the envelope of reason, to put it mildly.”
But Tallcree’s fight with Rath over settlement money continues.
On June 24, court documents show that Meneen’s lawyers filed an “urgent” application with the Court of King’s Bench, alleging that his corporation had misappropriated approximately $6.4 million from the First Nation’s trust.
Meneen’s lawyers gave Rath until June 17 to explain and document the disputed trust charges. Rath’s counsel replied that day, stating he had been unavailable since June 5 due to a death in the family and could not meet the deadline.
According to an online obituary, Rath’s wife of 25 years, Dayna Laverick-Rath, died on June 5.
The day after Rath said he couldn’t meet the deadline, he nonetheless appeared in the Court of Appeal to argue a stay application on behalf of the Stay Free Alberta group.
Other First Nations have launched challenges regarding Rath’s fees.
Prophet River First Nation is headed to a three-week trial in Calgary in May 2027, alleging Rath collected about $10.8 million in fees and payments — approved by the band’s council — after securing a $130-million settlement, despite a retainer that entitled his firm to just $2.6 million. Rath’s statement of defence says council resolutions authorized the payments and argues the lawsuit is a “collateral attack” that can only be heard in the Federal Court.
A growing backlash
Chief Sunshine was not in a leadership role when Sturgeon Lake approved its Treaty 8 agricultural benefits, or “cows and plows,” agreement with Rath. But he says he was already hearing similar complaints from other First Nations and tried to raise concerns, though he felt there was not enough support to challenge it.
When Canada settled that claim for roughly $143 million, Rath & Company’s contingency agreement meant they took about $28 million. Sunshine says the nation “didn’t realize the amount of money that they were giving up.”
“When you’re talking to people who haven’t seen that kind of money before, [whether it’s] $43,000 as opposed to $34,000 or whatever the numbers were, it really didn’t matter to them.”
But Rath did not keep most of the funds he was granted.
Court records from 2022 indicate that Rath was advanced $10 million by litigation funders for the Sturgeon Lake case and repaid them $23.3 million after settlement funds were received. Litigation funding is a controversial practice in which a third-party funder finances a legal dispute and receives a percentage of the settlement.
Authority in question
Rath has faced at least 10 Alberta Law Society citation allegations across four disciplinary matters since 2024.
Five have resulted in findings or admissions of conduct warranting sanction, including reprimands and cost awards; three remain outstanding, and two were dismissed.
Across multiple disputes, two themes emerge. First Nations allege Rath either continued acting after being fired or made major legal decisions without consulting them
In September 2019, Rath represented Thunderchild First Nation in Saskatchewan at a court hearing, two months after they had fired him.
The Law Society found that Rath delayed transferring the file after the nation fired him, pending recognition of his contingency fee agreement, and then attended a Federal Court case-management conference without advising the court or Crown counsel that his retainer had ended. He was reprimanded in May 2025 and ordered to pay $10,000 in costs.
Rath is now suing them. In 2024, he filed a claim for his contingency fee, which was $38-85 million of Thunderchild’s $155.4-million Treaty 6 settlement.
2:15Court pauses Alberta independence petition as First Nations challenge constitutionality
Saskatchewan’s Moosomin First Nation took more drastic action against Rath.
In December 2022, a month after replacing Rath & Company, Moosomin council passed a resolution barring Rath from its lands, alleging he attended a members-only meeting after being told not to, tried to re-enter after being asked to leave and went to two council members’ homes. Council said his “physical and verbal attempts of intimidation and baseless accusations” caused members to fear for their safety.
Rath challenged his dismissal, accusing the new lawyers and the Moosomin leadership of misconduct, including bribery, and later sought an order to force the new lawyers to answer 161 cross-examination questions, according to court documents.
The Federal Court dismissed the motion and ordered Rath & Company to pay $32,392.50 to the new lawyers and $10,435 to Moosomin, plus interest. A later appeal was dismissed.
In December 2025, he launched a lawsuit against Moosomin for $19.2 million, claiming that, despite being replaced years before the case settled, he is entitled to a 15 per cent contingency fee from its $127.8-million settlement with Canada.
Rath also sued Stoney First Nation. According to court documents, the Alberta Court of Queen’s Bench found that, after representing them in an election dispute, he had represented the nation without authority. The court also found that hundreds of thousands of dollars in legal bills were never properly authorized because he was retained by the chief, and the council did not authorize the retainer.
The business of litigation
Critics say such cases reflect a broader concern about how contingency-fee litigation can blur the lines between legal advocacy and commercial interests.
“And [Rath] is good at the business side of it; there’s nothing wrong with that,” Kennedy says.
A fight with Peguis First Nation shows that business side.
Peguis sued Rath in Alberta in 2014 over the Assiniboia Downs redevelopment, alleging that he placed $22 million in trust with Rath & Company and that he wrongfully withheld funds; the claim also alleged that his retainer gave him a four per cent share of future revenues and raised a potential conflict involving the Manitoba Jockey Club. Rath denied wrongdoing, said both sides had received independent legal advice, and counterclaimed, alleging that Peguis insiders had sabotaged the project.
The case was later discontinued without a merits ruling.
“To see him take so much from so many nations and now lead the separation in Alberta is appalling, with total disregard of the treaty nations’ inherent rights,” Sweetgrass First Nation Chief Lorie Whitecalf told Global News.
Sweetgrass also challenged Rath & Company’s legal bills in court – but Rath was largely successful on appeal.
For many First Nations leaders who have hired Rath, his new role as public advocate for Alberta’s autonomy has been especially galling.
A new cause
Global News visited Rath’s Foothills property in 2025 to speak about the independence movement gaining traction. He was quick to answer questions about that, but when the talk turned to the Law Society citations he was facing at the time, he turned sombre.
“These things are very embarrassing to me,” Rath said, sitting at his kitchen table.
“When people accuse me of unprofessional conduct … I take that very seriously. I take it very personally. Am I perfect? Have I had a tendency over the years to say or state things very strongly in a way that’s probably not appropriate at a very polite university gathering? Probably.”
Declining to answer a list of Global News’s questions for this story, Rath said: “I’m not litigating these issues in the press.”
Because while much of the defence of his legal work has unfolded far from the public spotlight, Rath has publicly evolved into a legal advocate for Alberta’s future.
2:02Stay Free Alberta submits petition signatures, questions arise on validity of names
The independence push Rath helped champion meant Stay Free Alberta submitted 301,620 signatures, far above the 177,732 required under Alberta’s citizen-initiative rules to request a referendum.
He rejects suggestions that Alberta’s independence efforts would sidestep treaty rights, arguing any move toward separation would require negotiations with First Nations under the Clarity Act.
“If anybody understands First Nations, Jeff should,” Sylvestre told Global News.
But for First Nations leaders, the issue is not how many Albertans signed a petition. The question is whether Alberta can even begin a process that could alter treaty relationships without them.
“First Nations are [considered] an obstacle to go around,” Sunshine says.
“We’re the first inhabitants of this land. We made concessions, we made agreements in order for these lands to be settled, and that’s what these people are forgetting.”
Alberta is on Treaty land. Alberta isn’t separating.
@superdog10.bsky.social:
Twists & turns here for sure. Separatists totally disregard Treaty rights, legal contracts from before creation of Alberta as province: yet Rath represented one FN with trust fund administration, overcharging $millions. lol grifter. Smith enables chaos. Healing will be hard.
@jegunter.bsky.social:
Nail his ass. He, and Smith, are toxic waste.
Court freezes accounts of separatist lawyer as First Nation alleges misappropriation, Tallcree First Nation wants return of millions of dollars to trust account by Michelle Bellefontaine, CBC News, Jul 14, 2026
The personal and professional bank accounts of lawyer Jeff Rath, one of the leaders of Alberta’s separatist movement, were temporarily frozen as part of a legal dispute over millions of dollars in trust funds that a First Nation alleges were misappropriated.
Alberta Court of King’s Bench Justice Michael Marion granted the temporary order to freeze Rath’s accounts after an emergency hearing last week. The full matter will be heard in court on Wednesday.
Tallcree First Nation Chief Rupert Meneen requested the urgent hearing after Rath failed to account for $6 million in retroactive charges to the First Nation’s trust account by its deadline of June 17. Rath’s professional corporation is the trust’s sole trustee.
According to court documents, the Tallcree First Nation asked the court for a rarely used Mareva order over concerns the funds would be “dissipated, transferred, concealed, or placed beyond reach before this matter can be heard in the ordinary course.”
The judge agreed that a strong prima facie case existed to grant the temporary order.
Lawyers for the Tallcree First Nation found additional information about the trust fund after another Court of King’s Bench judge on June 26 removed Rath as trustee and appointed BMO Trust Company to take over.
Account statements forwarded by BMO show that in February 2025, $8.5 million was deposited into an investment account. Rath PC had opened the account to comply with a judge’s order to hold the money separately pending the outcome of an appeal by the Tallcree First Nation to have the money go back to them.
On Nov. 4, the First Nation’s appeal was dismissed by the Court of Appeal, which meant the original order to have the money repaid to the trust account was upheld.
Thirteen days later, the statements show Rath PC wrote a cheque for $8.5 million on the trust account to itself.
The First Nation’s lawyer noted in a June 23 letter to Rath and his legal counsel that there is no record of that money being moved to the trust fund’s investment accounts.
Rath responded to the lawyer via an email on July 3 that he was entitled to the 20 per cent contingency fee and that the band council approved the amount through a resolution.
He said in a separate email that same day “that all funds were properly paid out pursuant to the terms of the trust.”
Years-long dispute
Meneen’s originating application lays out a timeline that started in 2017 when the Tallcree First Nation received $57.6 million from the federal government after the two parties settled an agricultural benefits claim.
The First Nation retained Rath to put the money into a trust. Rath drafted the declaration of trust and made his professional corporation the sole trustee. Rath’s fees were set at $11.5 million or 20 per cent of the settlement.
The First Nation asked the court in 2018 if those fees were reasonable. The subsequent ruling found the fees were excessive, which was upheld by the Court of Appeal. Rath was ordered to return $8.5 million dollars to the trust.
What followed were years of legal action by the First Nation aimed at getting the money back.
After the Supreme Court of Canada declined to hear Rath’s appeal, an Alberta Court of Appeal judge ordered Rath to refund the money in November 2023. The same judge ordered the money, along with interest, be refunded seven months later.
In July 2024, band manager Mike Cardinal asked Rath to provide the trust’s financial statements going back to 2021.
The affidavit states that Rath took several months to provide the financial statements for 2021, 2022 and 2023. The financial statements for 2024 and 2025 took longer.
They arrived on June 1, 2026, in response to a court order.
What the First Nation found were amounts charged to the trust “that are extraordinary, unprecedented in the Trust’s history, and deeply concerning,” according to court documents filed by the First Nation.
Cardinal said Rath didn’t tell the First Nation the charges had been made.
They included administration fees and professional fees totalling $6,012,960 “in the same fiscal year Rath PC was ordered to pay $8,518,075 into court,” another court document said.
“The timing and scale of these unprecedented charges strongly suggest that they misappropriated the trust’s own assets to fund the court-ordered repayment of the improper and unreasonable contingency fees.”
The affidavit further alleges that $1,278,322 charged for “reimbursement of external legal expenses incurred for prior legal proceedings” were related to the costs Rath incurred to defend his own contingency fee.
The court will look at extending the temporary order on Wednesday.
@deBeauxOs1:
ah.
Too bad Jeffery Rath chooses to be a vile, lying, corrupt crook and not a buffoon, like the flawed comic personality he resembles.
@barbetta1:
Upcoming story on Alberta Separatist lawyer, Jeffrey Rath. No surprise he’s a financial predator.
@veravegas013:
@JeffreyRWRath, are you in trouble again? Your billing practices & legal fees have a documented history of judicial scrutiny. “Chief Meneen took these steps after very recently learning that in 2024 & 2025, Mr. Rath caused the trust to incur charges and fees of over $6 million.”
@TheBreakdownAB:
More fascinating developments on the separatist leader Jeffrey Rath…
@WesternStd Parody account:
OPINION | “It’s not stealing when they ceded it willingly”: Jeffrey Rath.
@Odd_Longfellow:
Jeffrey Rath denies grifter claims, reassures separatists he’s a “Professional Grievance Merchant”
…
i. Commissions payable
[75] I will firstly apply a comparator to what Realtors/Brokers earn as middlemen or facilitators as a typical percentage commission or finders fee. The Law of Evidence in Canada Fifth Edition, Sopinka, Lederman and Bryant, at §19.28, pg 1397 describes how business and trade practices notorious generally or in the community are a recognized category of facts which do not require formal proof thereof and which can be judicially noticeable:
19.28 Another recognized category is that of business and trade practices notorious generally or in the community. In Sutherland v Bell, Beck J pointed out that:
It is a matter of common experience . . . We are not to decline to make use of our own knowledge of such ordinary methods of business as are matter of common experience.
[(1911), 1911 CanLII 417 (AB SCEB), 3 Alta. L.R. 497, at 498, 18 W.L.R. 521 (Alta.C.A.). See also Davey v. Harrow Corp., [1957] 2 All E.R. 305, [1958] 1 Q.B. 60 (C.A.) Gollan v. Edmonton Credit Co., 1938 CanLII 462 (AB SCTD), [1938] 1 W.W.R.670, [1938] A.J. No. 4 (Alta. Dist. Ct.); Poole v Smith’s Car Sales (Balham) Ltd., [1962] 2 All E. R. 482, at 486, [1962] 1 W.L.R. 744 (C.A.); R v Pinno, 1925 CanLII 269 (SKDC), [1925] 1 W.W.R. 737, [1925] S.J. No. 4 (Sask. Dist. Ct.).]
[76] Similarly, Real Estate commissions are well known by anyone who has ever bought or sold a property, and those commissions payable upon closing usually average around 5%. In this comparable, I am dealing with a $58.5 million dollar settlement, and given that there are relatively few $58.5 million dollar real estate transactions, a 5% award would seem quite reasonable, since higher value real estate transactions usually attract a lower percentage commission. Applying a 5% total award on a $58.5 million dollar transaction would result in a fee payable of approximately $3 million dollars in this particular case.
[77] A $3 million dollar award to Rath is still substantially more that Rath’s after the fact estimated time records of under $400,000. It would also result in a $300,000 a month retainer if you consider the 10-month period over which most of this single file was settled over, and close to a $400,000 a month retainer if you consider it was essentially completed within eight months.
…
Conclusion
[84] My final award to Rath in this matter is $3 million dollars. Rath in the initial $11.5 million dollar account, did not charge disbursements because they were relatively insignificant. Real estate commissions and finder’s fees also typically do not add disbursements either because they are a cost of doing business. Accordingly, the $3 million dollar award to Rath will be inclusive of all disbursements that Rath may have incurred in this matter.
[85] Rath is directed to refund the difference of $8,518,075 dollars it received as fees [$11,518,075 minus $8,518.075 = $3,000,000] to Tallcree immediately, and in any event within 30 days of these Reasons. Rule 10.27(2) which reads as follows is invoked:
If the amount of lawyer’s charges payable pursuant to the decision of the review officer has been paid and, after payment, is reduced on appeal, the lawyer may be ordered to return the excess and, if the lawyer fails to do so, the lawyer, in addition to being liable for that amount, may be found guilty of a civil contempt.
[86] The parties are welcome to make further submissions to the Court with respect to the costs to be awarded on this appeal, and any other matters they are unable to agree on within 30 days of these reasons.
@ZabanaBrandon:
That seems to be a lot of really expensive steaks for BBQing.
TALLCREE FIRST NATION v RATH AND CO, 2021 ABQB 234 by jssbarristers.ca
LEE J
10.18: Reference to Court
10.2: Payment for lawyer’s services and contents of lawyer’s account
10.27: Decision of judge
10.7: Contingency fee agreement requirements
10.9: Reasonableness of retainer agreements and charges subject to review
Case Summary
The Court heard an Appeal from the Review Officer’s Decision with respect to the Tallcree First Nation’s (“Tallcree”) contingency fee agreement (the “Agreement”) entered into with Rath & Company and their former counsel Jeffrey Rath (collectively, “Rath”). Pursuant to the Agreement, Rath was entitled to 20 percent of the $57.5-million-dollar agricultural benefits settlement payment from the Federal Government to Tallcree.
Justice Lee found that the Review Officer had made two reversible errors. First, the Review Officer applied a lower standard of review than required by Rule 10.9 in assessing the reasonableness of the retainer fee. Second, the Review Officer erred in finding that the Agreement’s 20% contingency fee was a reasonable “low end minimum” payment without hearing any evidence or supporting caselaw to justify Rath’s $11.5 million dollar bill.
Justice Lee emphasized that reviewing a contingency agreement pursuant to Rule 10.9 inquires whether the Agreement was unreasonable, not “unexpectedly unreasonable”, as per the Review Officer’s decision. With respect to the second error, His Lordship noted that automatically finding the Agreement’s 20% contingency fee was reasonable without any supporting authorities neglected the factors relevant to that inquiry. These factors arising from Rule 10.2(1) are: (a) the nature, importance, and urgency of the matter; (b) the client’s circumstances; (c) the trust, estate or fund, if any, out of which the lawyer’s charges are to be paid; (d) the manner in which the services are performed; (e) the skill, work and responsibility involved; and (f) any other factor that is appropriate to consider in the circumstances.
In this respect, Justice Lee stated that the matter had settled quickly with little time spent by Rath, as well as the fact that Rath was a small 6-person law firm. The Court also noted that what little inquiry into the reasonableness of this fee conducted by the Review Officer was inconsistent with his own statement that he had never encountered a fee this high before.
Having found these two palpable and overriding errors, Justice Lee applied his authority under Rule 10.27 to override and substitute his Decision for the Review Officer’s. His Lordship noted that Rule 10.27(1)(d) also grants the Court the authority to make any Order the Court sees fit. In this case, that Order included a return of any excess fees collected by Rath, as is permitted by Rule 10.27(2). The Court also found that the Agreement contained an arbitration clause which contravened the requirements of Rule 10.7(7) permitting the client to request a review of the Agreement or any resulting statements of account.
After considering the factors in Rule 10.2(1), Justice Lee re-emphasized the Court’s authority to alter or find any or all of a contingency agreement void as per Rule 10.18(3)(b). As such, His Lordship found that Rath was entitled to $3 million dollars as final payment, inclusive of all disbursements.
@Songstress28:
Would you look at this:
Jeffrey Rath — chief lawyer for the Stay Free Alberta separatist petition and a leading public voice for Alberta separation — has to account for $6 million in expense charges in just one year from Tall Creek First Nation.
Rath spent months in court arguing that First Nations’ treaty rights aren’t even at issue in the separatism push, calling their legal challenge “ridiculous.” Courts disagreed: judges have twice found the government failed its duty to consult First Nations.
Now Rath faces a different kind of court scrutiny — this time from a First Nation he represents. Alberta’s Court of King’s Bench has removed him as trustee of the Tallcree First Nation Trust on an interim basis after Chief Rupert Meneen’s legal action alleged Rath’s firm charged the trust over $6 million in fees in 2024–2025 — the same period he was under court order to repay $8.5 million from his original contingency fee. BMO has been appointed interim trustee, and Rath has been ordered to disclose trust asset information and “pass his accounts” to justify the charges.
This isn’t Rath’s first clash with a First Nation client: a judge previously ordered $235,000 in costs against him over his conduct representing the Sturgeon Lake Cree.
So the separatist rhetoric demanding chiefs be audited…so fricken ironic. Or is it?
***Formerly represented- Rath is not counsel for Tall Cree First Nation anymore.
Turns out this isn’t the first time Jeffery Rath, Alberta Prosperity Project lawyer and separatist public voice attempted to scam First Nations. So who’s cheating who? In 2020, Tallcree First Nation won a $57.5M settlement from the feds over a treaty agricultural benefits claim — but a court slashed lawyer Rath’s fee from $11.5M down to $3M, ruling the 20% cut was disproportionate to the actual work done. Justice Lee noted that Rath was “a small six-lawyer law” firm practicing in Priddis, Alberta, and found that “most of the work product found in the record are actually simple emails created and signed” by the firm’s paralegal, that didn’t match up with what was in the contingency fee agreement. https://jssbarristers.ca/rules/summarie
How could any FNs trust that man after that?How can anyone trust Rath after that and his many other shite behaviours, like representing the separatists and going to Nazi USA to try and snag billions in cash to pay for his and their betrayals.
How is this scumbag not in prison He’s a lawyer who operates in Alberta, Canada’s most racist, most piss-on-the-rule-of-law province, and is protected by his self regulator, the law society of Alberta, protector and servant of the legal industry’s worst.
@VanBizWiz:
This is huge misconduct. Must wonder what else is off. Presently following a case (for a case study) where a litigant is suing 2 legal firms for same issue and analyzing another 2 who were involved. So far am aware of misconduct and/or incompetence attached to 3 of the 4
@trying2help:
And now! Tallcree FN Trust has $6 million Rath as trustee seems to have charged it!
Tried to hide 2024 2025 audit reports!
Did Rath use the trust fund as his personal piggy bank?
Huge scandal Truth will out
@VPPSunshine:
There is a lot more slime to this guy’s practice than people will ever find out. He figured out how to milk the SpecClaim process and seek out clients with weak governance structures that made him very rich.
@sailorjacko:
Grifters, Nazi’s, and traitors.
@RavenCreative2:
He’s a piece of shit
@HumidKlundge:
He’s scum. Should be disbarred
@SLAUGHTERNODS:
Man, who made Jeff Rath the Lorax of Alberta Independence?
Jeff is such a maroon.
@kasza_leslie:
Completely disgusting, but then again, not unexpected since his partner in BS and crime, Modry, repeatedly demonstrated an equivalent lack of ethics. Let’s see what comes out about Sylvestre, hmmm??
@OrderNew69:
Funny how 2 of the proponents for separation @JeffreyRWRath @l_modry
are both accused of unsavoury monetary gains. Both taking advantage of their position to steal from others. From thieves to grievance grifters and a treasonous Premier seems the whole separatist movement is primarily made up of dishonest individuals. It’s a shame that many believe and follow them and those of us who oppose separation are accused of being the sheep that just follow. History has shown that it is easier to lead those who are weak minded.
@GordBolton:
What kind of people are pushing the separatist cause in Alberta?
@RobACooper:
Any familiar with that grifting racist fat bastard is completely unsurprised…
@GMac252617:
Stone Age heathen grifters deserve nothing but scorn.
@trying2help:
Tallcree FN also had Raths exorbitant $11.3 million fee reduced to $3 million for work on a federal settlement owed. In 2022
Then 2024, 2025 Rath withheld audited trust reports! Seems $6 million unaccounted for properly ! ‘Fees’. Did Rath use the trust as his piggyback?
2022 Raths exorbitant fee to Tallcree FN was reduced by $8.3 million
2024 2025 Rath then seems to have charged over $6 million to the trust when the legal work was all done !
@WeimaDiane:
A leopard cant change its spots. What a corrupt thief you are Jaba the Rat.
@ketowithgreg:
I’m thinking he’s a crook and a thief
@WenDB_AB:
Rath is dirty to the bone
Friend of the corrupt @ABDanielleSmith
@dianesbaker1:
J Rath has faced discipline and threats from Alberta Bar Association for theft, misrepresentation, etc.
This is a form of tax fraud and embezzlement.
@CitizenCda:
Rath is a monstrosity
@TomMcCrory7:
Something to add to the cases before the Law society. Maybe the RCMP should have a glimpse of this file
@LindaBowyer17 Replying to @CTVCalgary:
This Jeffrey Rath Disgraced and sanctioned and crooked Jeffrey Rath?
JFC Harper’s and Smith’s fake smiles make me gag; no matter how hard they fake it, they can’t hide their evil. It’s the same with Carney.
Refer also to:
Lawyers are rats and their self regulators, the law societies, are there to protect them, especially if they are white racist pedophile males.
