SAULT STE. MARIE — Two Indigenous brothers who operate a fuel supply company have launched a multimillion-dollar lawsuit against the owners of the Gen7 brand of First Nation gas stations, alleging that a co-ordinated pattern of theft, negligence, “disgraceful misconduct” and “suspicious wire transfers” has left their business in financial tatters.
From the outside, at least, the stations appear to be a shining example of a successful Indigenous-led business. But the Hill brothers’ lawsuit, obtained by SooToday from the courthouse in Toronto, tells a very different story. The lawsuit demands the “return and disgorgement of all monies and assets unlawfully taken or received,” and $1-million in punitive damages from each of the named defendants.
“The defendants have been unjustly enriched as a result of their unlawful acts described herein, to the deprivation of the plaintiffs,” the lawsuit reads. “They are liable to the plaintiffs to account, make full restitution, and for damages sufficient to compensate them for their losses and deprivations.”
The Hill brothers and Page would soon expand, constructing large fuel blending facilities at strategically located First Nations in Ontario in order to have greater fuel volumes available for sale and ready for delivery. The idea was to import bulk fuel from suppliers in the United States and transport it to the blending stations. That fuel would then be blended with the additives required to create the retail fuel products sold to Original Traders’ gas station customers.
Page then proposed a different idea, the lawsuit says: he would set up his own gas station brand to partner with Indigenous fuel retailers on reserves, thus creating another customer for OTE. “[Page] also proposed using the term ‘Gen 7’ in promoting and operating his new venture with the Indigenous stakeholders, and in return for that permission those retailers would become new OTE LP customers,” the lawsuit alleges.
The lawsuit alleges that although Indigenous participants own a majority interest in each Gen7 gas station, Glenn Page and Mandy Cox “have complete financial and management control over all key aspects of the business.” The lawsuit says Page informed the Hill brothers that OTE LP could apply for tax refunds in the United States, bringing in potential refunds somewhere in the ballpark of $25 million to $30 million. The plaintiffs allege that to date, none of these refunds have been received by OTE LP.
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