'Cash poor' businesswoman is worth at least $20M, can pay off mortgage debt, B.C. court rules

The homepage of the Landmark Premiere Properties Ltd. website is seen in this screenshot from Jan. 1, 2025. (landmarkliving.ca)

A Vancouver businesswoman who claimed to be too "cash poor" to pay off a roughly $3 million mortgage debt – despite having claimed a net worth in excess of $94 million as recently as 2018 – has been ordered to pay up.

In a decision issued this week and published online, B.C. Supreme Court Registrar Meg Gaily calls the case of Helen Chan Sun "unlike any" she has previously heard.

"I find that Ms. Sun leads a lavish lifestyle making regular purchases at luxury stores, which are indicative of someone whose income well exceeds the $60,000 to $70,000 she claims to make on an annual basis," Gaily's ruling reads.

"I found her testimony that many of the purchases were gifts or prizes for persons at her companies or investors lacks credibility and her inability to remember or identify specific major purchases … defies credulity."

Origins of the debt

Gaily was asked to weigh in on the case in a "subpoena to debtor" proceeding, which was brought by GC Capital Inc.

In 2018, that company issued a $4.5-million mortgage to two companies, 1161359 B.C. Ltd. and Cameray Garden Holdings Ltd., according to Gaily's decision. Sun served as one of two guarantors of the mortgage.

When the companies defaulted on the mortgage in June 2019, GC commenced foreclosure proceedings. In February 2020, it won a judgment against Sun and the other parties involved in the mortgage, for a total value of $5,332,811.87.

The decision indicates that Sun and GC entered a settlement agreement in March 2021, with Sun agreeing to pay $5,677,159 in installments.

"Ms. Sun paid approximately $3,000,000 towards the debt, but since the summer of 2022, Ms. Sun has refused to pay the balance owing," the decision reads.

Gaily's decision does not specify the address of the real estate the mortgage was intended to fund, describing it only as a "property development in Burnaby." The decision provides no details on what led the recipients of the funds to default.

In its application to the court, GC asked Gaily to order Sun to pay $300,000 a month toward the remaining debt.

In contrast, Sun and her lawyers told the court that her ability to pay was "adversely affected by the current real estate market," and that she is "cash poor." They asked Gaily to order her to pay just $3,000 per month, which is one per cent of what GC was seeking.

'Expensive purchases at luxury stores'

According to Gaily's decision, the subpoena to debtor proceeding was initially scheduled for a half-day hearing on March 27, 2024.

Instead, the hearing was continued three times, ultimately concluding on Nov. 28.

GC's lawyers questioned Sun "at length," about her net worth and the contents of documents she had submitted for the hearing and for previous related cases, the decision indicates.

"Ms. Sun testified that she did not know the current value of her assets, that is, the value of her shareholdings," the decision reads, noting that she agreed she had previously submitted affidavits showing her personal net worth as $33,277,542.10 in October 2022 and $21,238,533.41 in November 2023.

According to the decision, Sun owns or controls several companies engaged in real estate development in B.C., and touted the success of one of those – Landmark Premiere Properties Ltd., of which she is CEO – in one of her affidavits.

Despite this, Sun told the court she earns between $60,000 and $70,000 a year, drives vehicles that are leased by her companies, resides with her mother and does not pay rent.

Personal bank statements she provided showed monthly incoming transfers from Landmark Premier of roughly $4,000. However, they also showed "two deposits of $31,250 each" in August and October of 2023.

"Ms. Sun testified that these funds were provided to her by Landmark Premiere Properties (Central Plaza) Ltd. (“Landmark Central Plaza”) (a company of which she is one of two directors and in which another company solely owned by her owns 50 per cent of the shares)," Gaily's decision reads.

"Ms. Sun said that the company had asked her to donate these funds on its behalf, but there was no evidence before me to confirm this (such as copies of donation tax receipts)."

Similarly, personal credit card statements Sun provided showed that "throughout 2023, she regularly made expensive purchases at luxury stores," according to the decision, which lists purchases made at the Dior boutique in the Hotel Vancouver, the Cartier store at the Bellagio in Las Vegas, and Vancouver's Hermes and Holt Renfrew stores, among others.

She told the court the purchases were made on behalf of her companies, and that she submitted receipts and was reimbursed for them. When asked why she didn't use a company card to make such purchases, she said she used her personal card at times when she wasn't carrying her company cards, such as on weekends.

$18-million shareholder loan

During the hearing, GC's lawyers questioned Sun about evidence that Landmark Premiere owes her $18 million.

In response, she claimed she "could not confirm the exact amount" because she "did not have the data," according to Gaily's decision. Sun also refused to estimate the amount the company owes her, but said she could "acknowledge" that it was a substantial amount.

"She also admitted that she has never received any payments from Landmark Premiere for the shareholder loan she advanced," the decision reads.

"Ms. Sun does not deny that she is owed money well in excess of the debt to GC, namely the $18,000,000 owed to her by Landmark Premiere under her shareholder loan," it continues.

"Despite her evidence that she did not know the value of properties held by her companies or her own net worth, I find that Ms. Sun is a sophisticated businessperson who has invested heavily in real estate development in the Lower Mainland and I am satisfied on the evidence before me that her personal net worth exceeds $20,000,000, such that she has the ability to pay the debt owing to GC."

Gaily noted that Sun had provided no evidence to suggest that Landmark Premiere was insolvent or otherwise unable to repay her shareholder loan.

Further, the registrar found no evidence had been presented to show that the current real estate market and interest rates would make it difficult for Sun to pay GC $300,000 a month.

"Regardless, the fact that a debtor has sufficient assets that, if realized upon, could satisfy the debt, establishes that she has the means to do so," Gaily's decision reads.

"The fact that it may not be comfortable for Ms. Sun to do so does not change that determination, particularly where the difficulty arises solely from the complex corporate structure the debtor has established herself."

Gaily ordered Sun to pay $300,000 per month, as GC requested.