Łutsel K'e Dene First Nation pursuing lawyer who held $900,000 of gold for Ron Barlas

Legal proceedings against suspended Denesoline Corporation CEO Ron Barlas have expanded to include an Ontario lawyer who held hundreds of ounces of gold Barlas owned.

It's the latest development in the wide-ranging civil lawsuit Łutsel K'e Dene First Nation (LKDFN) filed against Barlas, who for years ran the First Nation's business arm. The First Nation has accused him of diverting nearly $12 million from its companies during his time with Denesoline Corporation.

Barlas has maintained that everything he did was with approval by the corporation's board of directors.

Now, lawyers for LKDFN have submitted documents to the N.W.T. Supreme Court arguing lawyer Andrew Rogerson delayed lawyers' attempts to recover close to a million dollars worth of precious metals that Barlas had entrusted to him, and that he illegally spent a retainer Barlas had paid him.

Court documents show Barlas put Rogerson on retainer on April 26, 2023 — just two days before a court injunction froze all of Barlas's assets on April 28. The retainer was $90,000.

Rogerson is described on his law firm's website as a "leading Canadian authority on asset protection structures and litigating trust issues — with 11 years' experience practicing in offshore tax havens."

Barlas testified during cross-examination in the spring and summer of 2023 that Rogerson was holding hundreds of ounces of gold and silver for him, as well as helping him with possible plans to immigrate to the Caribbean.

Barlas said Rogerson was holding 300 ounces of gold  — an amount that would currently be worth more than $900,000.

"I believe in gold. I always like to have gold," Barlas told lawyers.

Lawyers for LKDFN first told Rogerson directly about the freeze on Barlas's assets in July 2023, and asked him whether he was holding any money or assets for Barlas. According to court documents, Rogerson did not respond to the email.

LKDFN lawyers emailed him again in December 2023, asking him to confirm whether he was still holding precious metals for Barlas and whether he had the $90,000 Barlas had paid him — which were both included in the asset freeze. Rogerson didn't reply to this email or follow-up emails until a month later.

In his response on January 18, Rogerson said the gold was still in his firm's safe, and the retainer he got from Barlas had been used to pay for legal services he provided to Barlas.

Rogerson didn't give an itemized list of the precious metals until after LKDFN lawyers got a court order compelling him to answer.

The receiver holding Barlas's assets went to Rogerson's office and got the precious metals on May 1. LKDFN's lawyers are now asking the court to order Rogerson to give back the $90,000 retainer Barlas transferred to him. 

They also want Rogerson to compensate them for what lawyer Matthew Sammon told a judge in May was a "consistent pattern" of ignoring communications from lawyers and creating unnecessary delay.

In a cross-motion filed on June 27 containing several typos, Rogerson said his firm had done approximately $120,000 of legal work for Barlas. He asked the court to officially clear the $90,000 he had spent so far, and to transfer another $30,000 of Barlas's money to him.

Rogerson said he did not follow the rules of the injunction freezing Barlas's assets — which included needing to get court approval before spending money — because he assumed Barlas's other lawyers would get that approval for him. 

He also said all delays he may have caused in court proceedings by seeking adjournments or failing to answer emails happened because of innocent mistakes or a prolonged illness he dealt with this past winter.

Rogerson also accused LKDFN lawyers of having a "vendetta" against him. He said they were trying to paint "neutral" and "innocent happenings" as "misconduct of the highest degree."