Court documents detail Ron Ellsworth's denials in Anne Squires' loan lawsuit

A high-interest loan between Anne Squires and St. John's Deputy MayorRon Ellsworth made in 2013,that has since become the subject ofa lawsuit against him,was paid back by legal standards and consenting terms, Ellsworth claims.

In a statement of defence filed tothe province'sSupreme Court, Ellsworth statedSquires is not entitled to any repayments and denies he sent "aggressive emails and texts" demanding money.

He insistedtheir deal was predicatedon terms agreed upon by both parties, and was not in violation of the Criminal Code.

• Anne Squires sues St. John's Deputy Mayor Ron Ellsworth for $137K

Squires, owner of the now-defunctExit Realty on the Rock,is suingEllsworthfor $137,000.The lawsuit, filed on Sept. 6,comesaftershe borrowed$50,000 fromEllsworthin January 2013 and allegedly paidback more than $190,000.

Ellsworthdenied any funds paid to him by Squires were an overpayment for "any reason whatsoever."

Breaking the silence

The statement of defence is the first piece of information detailingEllsworth'sside of the story. He haddenied to comment on specifics toCBC News when approached earlier this month.

• Ron Ellsworth silent on alleged high-interest loan to Anne Squires

In April, a document came to light indicating the terms of the $50,000 loan, to be paid back with a $10,000 cost-of-borrowing feetwo months later. In her statement of claim filed in August, Squiresalso allegedEllsworth charged daily "late fees" of $500 a day.

All five paragraphs in Squires' statement were denied inEllsworth'sclaim.

Laws under the Criminal Code of Canada prohibit interest rates exceeding 60 per cent per year, and the terms under which Squires agreed to the loan appear to be well in excess of this maximum.

According to documents outlining the dealobtained inMarch,the interest Squires was required to pay appears to be well in excess of those legal limits, thoughit could be difficult to prove.

Money troubles

Squires has been in plenty of hot water on her own in the past year.

• Anne Squires blames staff for $510Kclaimed inAccessEasyFundslawsuit

In February, it was revealedthrough aninformation to obtain a search warrant (ITO) that the RNC was investigating her company on allegation of theft, fraud and breach of trust. It was alleged she had taken money from a trust account, which belonged to clients, and that shemade false purchase and sales agreements for a real commission.

In the warrant documents,an employee alleged that Squires owed AccessEasyFunds in Ontario roughly $528,000, and said Squires needed to find $100,000, "or we are all going to jail."