Suspended Denesoline CEO accused of forging meeting minutes and signature

Ron Barlas, the embattled suspended CEO of Denesoline Corporation, is denying new accusations that he fabricated board meeting minutes, arguing he instead "recreated" them nearly a year and a half later because the hard copy of the minutes had gone missing.

In an amendment to its lawsuit against him, Łutsel K'e Dene First Nation alleges that Barlas fabricated minutes for a board meeting held on Oct. 5, 2018.

It's the latest in a series of allegations, including him diverting between $10 million and $14 million from the First Nation's companies.

The minutes outline seven resolutions, including Denesoline acquiring "up to 100 per cent" of the shares of Northern Consulting Group (NCG), a company owned by Barlas, and NCG's interests in "certain contracts" it had as part of a joint venture with Denesoline. 

The First Nation alleges these resolutions led to Barlas obtaining control of Denesoline and the Ta'egera real estate holding company through a shareholder agreement. It also alleges that Barlas forged director Tom Lockhart's electronic signature on the minutes. 

The goal, according to the lawsuit, was for Barlas to "extract" millions of dollars from LKDFN companies and buy "several real estate assets." 

The suit alleges Barlas drafted an email requesting he and Lockhart take over as sole directors of Denesoline and the Ta'egera Company. The email included an attachment to the minutes of the Oct. 5, 2018, meeting. 

The lawsuit says Barlas sent the email to Lockhart on May 26, 2020, who then forwarded it to Reynolds Mirth Richards & Farmer, a law firm that previously represented LKDFN companies.

In court Wednesday, N.W.T. Supreme Court Justice Karan Shaner agreed to have the email included as part of evidence upon which Barlas can later be questioned. 

None of the allegations have been proven in court.

In an affidavit filed earlier this week, Barlas denied all of the allegations. 

He said he "recreated" the resolution minutes for the Oct. 5, 2018, meeting in March 2020 after the hard copy of the minutes went missing. 

He said he did so "for the purposes of due diligence" in preparation for a board meeting that was held on May 29, 2020. 

At that meeting, he said, the board of directors approved the resolution minutes of the Oct. 5, 2018, meeting. 

"I have not fabricated or forged any document or inappropriately used Tom Lockhart or anyone else's signature (digital or otherwise) without their permission or committed any criminal act whatsoever as alleged," reads the affidavit. 

Court proceedings are scheduled to continue in October, including a cross-examination of Barlas.