Khushpal Singh Taunk

Findings — machine-extracted (anthropic-batch:claude-opus-4-8); verify against the decision

Khushpal Singh Taunk entered a consent agreement (approved May 11, 2023) admitting professional misconduct for failing to record 15 general transactions within 30 days and maintaining $327,185.90 of his own funds in a pooled trust account, contrary to Law Society Rules. The delays in recording invoices and withdrawing fees led to under-reporting of GST and PST. He agreed to a $25,000 fine. The tribunal expressly noted his conduct was not motivated by dishonesty; no dishonesty was found.

Duties found breached:

• No improper use of client money
• Report serious misconduct of others

Aggravating factors:

• Prior professional conduct record including a 2008 finding of professional misconduct (one-month suspension)
• 2004 conduct review regarding cash handling and trust accounting
• Two referrals to Practice Standards (2003 and 2019), including prior accounting practice concerns
• Under-reporting of GST and PST to CRA and Ministry of Finance
• Lengthy delays in recording invoices (699-1,588 days)

Mitigating factors:

• No misappropriation of client funds and no client monies at risk
• Conduct not motivated by dishonesty or personal benefit
• Cooperative with Law Society counsel and made early and fulsome admissions
• Revised billing and accounting practices after retaining an expert
• All outstanding GST and PST taxes, interest and penalties paid