Łutsel K'e Dene First Nation to make its case against former CEO

In a Yellowknife courtroom on Wednesday, lawyers for the Łutsel K'e Dene will lay out the First Nation's case against the man who led its businesses for 10 years.

The Łutsel K'e Dene First Nation (LKDFN) filed a lawsuit last spring, alleging former CEO Ron Barlas misappropriated between $10 million and $14 million.

"Put simply, Barlas engaged in almost every form of misconduct and betrayal of trust in which a fiduciary can engage, all to vindicate his own personal greed," wrote the LKDFN lawyers in a brief outlining their case. "In doing so, he targeted an extraordinarily vulnerable community that trusted him."

For his part, Barlas has maintained his innocence.

The case is built on thousands of pages of emails, bank statements, transaction records and meeting minutes from Barlas's time as CEO, from 2014 until last year. The LKDFN alleges Barlas and his wife Zeba funnelled money through businesses they owned that were hired by the Łutsel K'e companies.

The record also includes hundreds of pages of a self-help manuscript Barlas wrote entitled, "Top Ten Strategic Steps to Power, Success and Happiness."

The first line of the foreword to the proposed book promises the reader "a captivating journey through space, time, science, history, psychology, sociology, business, life, warfare, law, philosophy, timeless wisdom, profound parables and brilliant strategy."

LKDFN is asking for a number of court orders, including an order compelling Ron and Zeba Barlas to account for all of the benefits they've received from LKDFN, and the seizure of properties the lawyers say the couple purchased with misappropriated funds, including their Niven Drive home in Yellowknife.

The lawyers say most of the evidence they're relying on comes from Barlas himself and his main witness, Tom Lockhart, a former director of the Łutsel K'e companies.

The hearing is scheduled to begin Wednesday and continue on Friday. Barlas is scheduled to argue his case in April.