Justice Serge Gaudet

By Dan Laxer
The Suburban

Two houses in Westmount belonging to Robert Miller, one of which is said to be the billionaire’s own residence, have been seized by Quebec Superior Court.

Legal liens were placed on the houses by order of Justice Serge Gaudet. The step is being taken as part of civil lawsuits for four women who allege that when they were underage Miller recruited and paid them for sex.

Several such allegations against Miller began to surface starting in February of last year. When the allegations came out in the media, Miller stepped down as head of Future Electronics, citing health concerns. Last month his defence lawyer claimed Miller was bedridden.

The original allegations against Miller were actually being investigated as far back as 2009, with cases alleged to have taken place going back to 1992 with girls as young as 14. No criminal charges were filed.

The move to place the liens on Miller’s homes is not the usual procedure, as the lawsuits before the courts are actually pending. But the plaintiff’s lawyers, worried that the homes could be unloaded before the cases proceed, asked for the court to take this step. Justice Gaudet agreed.It is said that Miller apparently has no bank accounts in his name, but that there may be others endeavouring to “hide assets in Miller’s name,” which Gaudet says is “troubling.” Also, in a class-action lawsuit last year there was a request to freeze Miller’s assets, or that he be ordered to deposit $200 million in the event that the court ruled in favour of the complainants. The judge in that case, Justice Eleni Yiannakis, denied the request.

The lawsuits also names former Future Electronics executive Sam Abrams who, it is alleged, managed bank accounts for Miller for years. It refers to “the Miller network,” organized to recruit “underage girls in order to satisfy the sexual urges of Robert Miller,” with the help of individuals within the company. In an earlier lawsuit Abrams was referred as “the Matchmaker.” The current suit names him as Miller’s “right hand man.”

One of the houses ordered seized has been valued at more than $2.3 million, and the other at more than $2.1 million. One is owned by a numbered company. The other by Robert Gerald Miller Holdings Inc. Both of the homes are located on Olivier Ave. in Westmount.

Earlier this year Future Electonics was sold to a Taiwan-based company for $3.8 billion U.S. Miller is now considered to be one of the two wealthiest people in Quebec. The 81-year-old was arrested earlier this year. He faces a host of charges, including sexual assault, procuring, sexual exploitation, sexual interference and sexual intercourse with a minor, involving ten victims. n