EDMONTON — Alberta independence advocate Jeffrey Rath has denied all accusations of misappropriating funds from a Tallcree First Nation trust while serving as the trustee, claiming that all "was done in accordance with the terms of the trust." Rath addressed the allegations Thursday, offering, from his perspective, background on an ongoing fee dispute with the First Nation dating back to a 2017 case in which he represented a collection of First Nations in a lawsuit against the federal government that ended in a $57.6 million settlement. Following the case, Rath charged the First Nation $11.5 million in legal fees, 20% of the settlement amount, as per the agreed-upon terms of their contingency fund agreement. The Chief and Council then pursued litigation to reduce the fee, claiming it was an "unreasonable" amount. After an initial ruling upheld the fee, an appeals judge ultimately reduced it to 5%. Rath then appealed the ruling, but a split judicial decision rejected the appeal, and he was ordered to repay $8.5 million as part of the contingency fund agreement. .In June, Tallcree First Nation raised additional concerns about more "unreasonable" legal fees charged by Rath.A subsequent review of financial documents has since revealed that in November of 2025, around the time Rath was ordered to repay the First Nation, an $8.5 million cheque was issued from the trust's funds to his personal account. Tallcree First Nation alleges that, in doing this, Rath misappropriated funds by removing the money from the trust to repay the fees. Rath, however, refutes the allegations, as he claims the court's decision regarding the 20% fees applied to the contingency fund agreement, but not the Settlement Terms agreed to at the time of the case's settlement with the federal government. "At no point in this litigation did any court including the Court of Appeal ever re-write the terms of the Settlement Trust approved by 94% of Tall Cree Members voting on it," Rath wrote in his statement. "The trust required 20% of the settlement funds to be paid as 'legal fees' as a 'first charge.' This was agreed to after the fact, with full disclosure of the fee, by 94% of the members who voted." According to Rath, his actions were done "in accordance with the terms of the trust." .The statement then went on to address the Mareva order issued against him on July 10, which froze the assets of him and his law firm until 60 days after a final ruling in the dispute with Tallcree First Nation has been made, or Rath provides $15 million to be held pending the final outcome.According to Rath, the order stems from an application filed and argued at a time when Rath was "unable to fully participate due to extremely trying personal, family, and health circumstances," which limited his input and left his counsel with fewer resources for evidence.
