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Justice Louis P. Strezos determined Mocanu never had any intention of advancing the appeals, all of which were filed after he or his firm had already entered guilty pleas on behalf of the defendants. Instead, his intention was to indefinitely delay the proceedings so his clients would avoid punishment.

Provincial regulations dictate that demerit points can’t be applied to driver’s records more than two years after the date of the offence, and neither points nor convictions can be registered while a case is under appeal.

When initially contacted by the Star, the Law Society of Ontario (LSO), which is responsible for regulating lawyers and paralegals in the province, said it couldn’t confirm whether it was investigating Mocanu.

On Monday however, the Law Society Tribunal confirming Mocanu had been given an “interlocutory” licence suspension, effective immediately.聽

The tribunal, which is an adjudicative body that hears cases between the LSO and its members, has not yet ruled on whether Mocanu committed misconduct. But the suspension order means a panel agreed with the LSO that there were reasonable grounds to believe there was a significant public risk if he was allowed to keep practising before the society’s investigation into his alleged malpractice was complete.

In a Sept. 12 notice of motion to the tribunal seeking the suspension, the LSO said it was looking into whether Mocanu had engaged in professional misconduct not only in the apparent ticket scheme, but in a host of other unrelated cases as well.

Based on complaints filed in 2024, they include allegations he may have misappropriated funds, misled clients, failed to provide competent services, and represented himself as able to provide legal services when he wasn’t entitled to. The LSO has received 12 complaints in addition to those cases in recent weeks, the notice states.

“The alleged misconduct brings squarely into question the integrity of the respondent as a provider of legal services to the public,” reads the LSO motion, and a provisional suspension “will reduce the risk of harm to the public and the public interest in the administration of justice.”

The allegations have not yet been tested at a tribunal hearing.

According to the notice, Mocanu consented to the suspension. Tribunal records show he has had his licence temporarily suspended twice before, in 2023 and 2024.聽聽

Mocanu, 41, didn’t return requests for comment Wednesday.聽

On June 11, Justice Strezos dismissed more than 220 HTA appeals Mocanu had filed, which were related to speeding, failing to obey traffic signs, and other non-criminal driving offences, as well as 18 others that followed a similar pattern. By that time however, the two-year deadline had already passed on more than 130 of them.聽

In reasons published in August, the judge wrote that Mocanu’s ploy had endangered public safety by giving the courts an incomplete picture of drivers’ records, which meant previous demerit points or convictions wouldn’t be factored into bail or sentencing decisions for subsequent charges, including impaired driving. The judge described the scheme as an “abuse of the appeals process.”聽

The appeals in Strezos’ ruling were initially flagged by city of 海角社区官网prosecutors. But Brampton officials have alleged that Mocanu and his associates have also been filing 鈥渇rivolous and meritless appeals鈥� in the Region of Peel, according to a separate Ontario Court of Justice decision released June 9. In that instance, the justice of the peace made no finding about whether the scheme constituted a crime, but said in general filing bad faith appeals could be obstruction of justice, which is a criminal offence.