The defendant preyed upon an 88-year-old woman’s vulnerability to facilitate the transfer
The BC Supreme Court declared an 88-year-old woman the sole owner of her property and ordered the defendant to pay punitive damages for exploiting her and coercing her into transferring joint ownership of her home during a seven-year period of abuse.
Judith King, who suffers from advanced dementia, met the defendant, Zoltan Vimhel, in 2013. At the time, she was physically and financially independent but vulnerable due to her age. Vimhel is 15 years younger than King. When he came into her life, he described himself as a self-employed “artist.” He had little to no income and was living out of a vehicle.
Over the course of their relationship, Vimhel exerted increasing control over King’s life, isolating her from family and friends and gradually taking over her legal and financial affairs. He also began to physically, verbally and mentally abuse her. By the end of 2014, King was so afraid of the defendant that she felt physically unsafe and feared that he would injure her if she did not do as he wanted. Eventually, the abuse became so consistent and severe that King came to believe that the defendant would kill her if she did not do what he wanted.
By 2020, Vimhel had coerced King into transferring joint ownership of her home in North Vancouver, BC, valued at $1.2 million, to him for only “$1.00 and natural love and affection.”
The Supreme Court found that Vimhel preyed on King’s vulnerability, moving her into a motel, restricting her contact with family, and draining her savings, including $515,000 from the sale of a vacation property. After King’s daughter managed to rescue her from Vimhel’s control in 2020, her children discovered that her accounts had been emptied, leaving her entirely dependent on them.
In its ruling, the court found that Vimhel’s conduct constituted undue influence, stating that King was coerced into the property transfer out of fear for her safety. The court declared the transaction void and ordered the return of the property to King. Additionally, the court awarded $50,000 in punitive damages, emphasizing the egregiousness of Vimhel’s actions, which had devastating physical, mental, and financial impacts on King.
King’s children have since taken legal steps to manage her affairs, and King now lives in a care home under government assistance, unable to recognize her family due to advancing dementia.
