The B.C. and federal governments are in court trying to recover $ 405,000 they say they lost in a fraudulent student loan scheme directed by a Vancouver Film School (VFS) employee.
Statements of claim were filed in 2004 against the school, former student loan officer Istvan Bajkay, other school employees and 28 people who allegedly benefited from the loans. But the case was delayed whileVFS argued that it should not be held responsible.
That application was dismissed by B.C. Supreme Court on Dec. 14, clearing the way for the case to proceed to trial. Find the decisions here and here.
Bajkay was prosecuted in criminal court for his role in this matter, but somehow this issue slipped under the radar and wasn’t reported until the Vancouver Sun’s Evan Duggan did so earlier this month. Read his story here.
The film school’s managing director Marty Hasselbach told the court the school became aware of possible irregularities in student-loan funding shortly after firing Bajkay in 2001 for an unrelated matter. The school contacted government and police.
Emily A. Prestidge
01. Mar, 2012
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