Zoltan 'Steven' Vimhel appears in this 2010 social media photo.

Image Credit: FACEBOOK: Steven Vimhel

A BC predator who bilked an elderly and vulnerable senior out of more than $1 million, while controlling every moment of her life, has been ordered to pay $50,000 as punishment for his malicious behaviour.

Justice Sheri Ann Donegan said she would have ordered Zoltan Vimhel, who goes by the name Steven and has since disappeared, to pay a much higher amount if he had it.

The details are laid out in a Sept. 20 BC Supreme Court decision, and paint a grim picture of elderly abuse and a systematic manipulation that lasted for seven years.

The decision said Vimhel met North Vancouver senior Judith King in 2013 when she was 77 years old and he was in his early 60s.

"Ms. King was elderly and vulnerable (and) Mr. Vimhel preyed upon her," the Justice said. "Mr. Vimhel systematically isolated, manipulated, deceived, abused and exploited Ms. King. By the end of their relationship, his control over all aspects of her life was so complete that she was deprived of her family, friends, neighbours, home, property and her considerable savings."

Vimhel, who is 15 years younger than King, described himself as an "artist" when they met and was living in his vehicle.

King, on the other hand, owned her own condo, a holiday place on Vancouver Island, and had almost $500,000 in savings.

She also had very close relationships with her children, a strong friend group and social life and was a regular churchgoer.

Vimhel changed all that. He soon moved in and the relationship became romantic.

"He gradually took greater and greater control over Ms. King’s social, legal and financial life. He also began to physically, verbally and mentally abuse her," the Justice said.

The decision said that by the end of 2014, King was so afraid of Vimhel she thought he would kill her if she didn't do what he said.

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He used fear as a tool to coerce and control her, isolating her from her family, friends and neighbours.

He would criticize family members and then block their phone numbers. He prevented King from emailing her children and sent cruel emails from her account to them. At one point he went to court and got a protection order against King's daughter after falsely reporting to the RCMP that the daughter was harassing King

Vimhel also isolated King from her friends and neighbours and wouldn't let her leave the house alone to prevent her from talking to others. He then added locks to the property so he could lock her in. He stopped her from going to church and created hostilities with others in the strata, making accusations against them and disrupting strata meetings.

"Ms. King wanted to have contact with her family and friends, but she followed his instructions to not contact them because she was afraid that he would hurt her if she disobeyed," the decision reads. "Her world had collapsed to revolve around one person."

Vimhel also took control of King's finances revoking a power of attorney that had been granted to a trusted friend of hers.

The Vancouver Island holiday home was sold and $500,000 was paid into a joint account which Vimhel completely drained.

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He got King to take out a $200,000 mortgage on her property. The money has since disappeared and the bank has begun foreclosure.

In 2017, Vimhel moved them both into a motel in Surrey. The rent was $3,000 a month.

"During this time, (Vimhel) would not allow Ms. King to leave the motel without him. He would not allow her to talk to anyone other than him. Ms. King was completely dependent on him for food and shelter. Although she was frightened of him and wanted to end the relationship, she felt trapped and isolated. Her children went to police to obtain help for their mother on more than one occasion over the following years but to no avail," the justice said.

At one point King managed to sneak away to her doctors and asked for help to leave. Once Vimhel found out about this he made a complaint against the doctor to the regulator in King's name.

"Ms. King’s family and friends continued to try to help her, but Mr. Vimhel had successfully isolated her and assumed control over her legal and financial affairs," the decision read.

He then got her to transfer half of her $1.2 million home to him.

King's children hired a private investigator to find her and in September 2020 rescued her, with help from the RCMP, from the Surrey motel room.

It was then they realized the extent of what Vimhel had done.

A year later, King was hospitalized and later moved to a care home on government assistance. Her illness has advanced and she no longer recognizes her children.

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Court action was taken to strip Vimhel of his 50% share of the house, and to order he paid punitive damages.

Justice Donegan had no issue in granting either request.

"This predator completely transformed a happy, vibrant and financially secure woman, who had many fulfilling years ahead of her, into a frightened, lonely, and powerless shell of her former self. He not only robbed her of her property and her considerable savings: he robbed her of her dignity, the support of her family and friends, and the enjoyment of what has turned out to be the last healthy years of her life," the Justice said.

The Justice described his conduct as "malicious, high-handed and offensive."

"He physically, emotionally and psychologically abused her, using her fear of physical harm and even death at his hand, to dominate her will."

Ultimately, King got her property back, and Vimhel was ordered to pay $50,000 punitive damages.

While Vimhel's conduct appears criminal in nature, there's no indication he's facing criminal charges. The court documents also said he disappeared two years ago.

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