An award-winning Richmond company - and the family members who operate it - is at the centre of a bizarre $8.5 million lawsuit.
River Road-based Blanchette Press, as well as Kim and Mary Ellen Blanchette and their five sons - Adam, Matt, Joel, Aaron and Mark - are all named in the suit filed in the U.S. by a Texan couple who claim to have been close friends of the Blanchettes.
In the court documents, the couple, Heidi Hanna and Charles Hill, alleges the Blanchettes duped them out of $8.5 million (U.S.) of their life savings after being convinced last year to deposit the fortune into a Las Vegas hotel's escrow account.
Although the money, according to Hanna and Hill's lawsuit, was to allow Joel Blanchette to take part in an invitation-only, high roller poker game at the Wynn Hotel, the couple says it was assured the $8.5 million was safe and returnable at any time. Over time, the couple grew suspicious and claims in the lawsuit that efforts to get the money back were rebuffed.
Hanna and Hill allege they finally tracked Joel Blanchette down to a hotel in London, England, where he, according to the lawsuit, told them the entire Blanchette family had knowingly been enjoying spending the cash on private jets, luxury hotels and a condo in False Creek.
Two weeks ago, a judge in Harris County, Texas, granted a restraining order against the Blanchette family, preventing them from transferring or selling any assets or withdrawing or spending more than $500 per day.
None of the allegations have been proven in court and the Blanchettes have yet to file a response.
When asked to comment on the lawsuit by the News, Kim Blanchette, in an emailed statement, said the "allegations against the companies, me and other family members are completely meritless and are being vigorously defended."
The Blanchettes have hired the services of Houston-based Vinson & Elkins LLP, considered one of the top law firms in Texas. An evidentiary court hearing has been set in Texas for Oct. 25.
It's not known if the Blanchettes are expected to appear in person.
In 2011, Blanchette Press - an offset printing company that specializes in the design community and has a subsidiary based in Houston, Texas - was the big Canadian winner with five awards in the prestigious Sappi North American Printers of the Year Competition.
Hanna and Hill are involved in the design logo industry and say they started doing business with the Blanchettes in the mid-2000s.
Over the years, claim the couple in the lawsuit, the relationship grew more personal, so much so that they began sharing Christmas and holidays together and, not having children of their own, considered the Blanchette boys as part of their own family.
The couple's Houston-based lawyer, Eric Lipper, told the News that Hanna and Hill had developed a solid trust of the Blanchettes, especially Joel.
"My clients have an American Express black card, which pretty much has no limits," said Lipper. "Joel asked them to get him one. They did, which he paid off every month for a long time.
"That showed the level of trust my clients had in him."
