Toronto lawyer suspended while facing weapons charges involving machete, box cutter and hammer
A Toronto lawyer charged last year with a string of criminal offences, including allegedly driving with a suspended licence with a machete in his car and threatening people at a store with a box cutter, has seen his licence to practice law in Ontario suspended temporarily.
The Law Society of Ontario learned last August that Behrouz Shafiei-Sararoodi, who goes by Shafiei, was facing criminal charges that he hadn’t told them about.
“There is no dispute that Mr. Shafiei has struggled with mental health and substance abuse difficulties. It appears likely that these difficulties have resulted in alleged criminal conduct and eviction from his residence,” according to a recent decision from a Law Society Tribunal.
“What is clear is that Mr. Shafiei’s life has been chaotic and that this appears to be connected to mental health and substance abuse. While Mr. Shafiei’s position is that this has not affected his clients, the complaint from (one who was convicted for driving while under suspension and operating a motor vehicle without insurance after Shafiei failed to show up to defend him at trial) suggests otherwise.”
His participation in the tribunal hearing “was chaotic,” said the decision dated Jan. 7.
“He failed to comply with directions concerning filing evidence and, in the end, failed to provide any reliable evidence in support of his position. He asked that the motion be held down until his lawyer appeared, but no lawyer appeared and no explanation was provided.”
The tribunal concluded “that the evidence and Mr. Shafiei’s conduct in this proceeding demonstrates reasonable grounds for believing that there is a significant risk of harm to members of the public, and to the public interest in the administration of justice if an order is not made.”
Shafiei’s “essential position is that the chaos that has plagued him since the spring of 2025 has ended and that he has put a proper plan in place such that he should be permitted to practise with restrictions,” said the tribunal.
“We disagree.”
The tribunal indicated it has no “medical evidence supporting this claim of change. Nor is there any evidence to support his claim that he has a plan of support in place that can be relied on to reasonably ensure that the change is maintained and that clients and the public interest in the administration of justice are not at risk. ”
The tribunal suspended his licence to practice law on an interlocutory basis.
“Mr. Shafiei appears thoughtful and … he appears to be doing his best to cope with and surmount important and difficult challenges,” said the tribunal.
“While we are unable to conclude on the evidence that he is at a point that continued practice should be permitted even with restrictions, we note that (an) interlocutory suspension or restriction order may be varied or cancelled on the basis of fresh evidence or a material change in circumstances.”
Shafiei “disputes the criminal allegations made against him,” said the decision.
But he “does not dispute that he has struggled with mental health and substance abuse difficulties. He acknowledges that he has experienced a crisis,” it said.
Police charged Shafiei on April 22, 2025, with possession of a weapon for a dangerous purpose, when he was allegedly caught driving with “an accessible machete” in his vehicle.
When a Law Society investigator interviewed him last September, Shafiei “claimed that it was there because he had been helping his mother with landscaping.”
He also “claimed that he did not know that his driver’s licence had been suspended,” said the tribunal’s decision.
Police charged Shafiei on July 24, 2025, with possession of a weapon for a dangerous purpose and uttering threats, for allegedly threatening people in a Shoppers Drug Mart while armed with a box cutter.
He told the investigator that the box cutter incident started with a store employee following him around.
“Mr. Shafiei stated that he confronted the employee, claiming that the employee was discriminating against him, at which point the employee called a manager. Mr. Shafiei stated that, in the interim, he picked up a box cutter from either the floor, or a shelf, because he ‘needed to open something.’”
He “claimed that the manager was aggressive with him from the outset. Mr. Shafiei stated that the manager accused Mr. Shafiei of holding a weapon, referring to the box cutter. Mr. Shafiei appeared to deny holding the box cutter as a weapon and blamed the store for leaving the box cutter out,” said the decision.
He was charged July 28, 2025, with possession of a weapon for a dangerous purpose “for allegedly possessing a hammer while threatening to fight people.”
Of that incident, Shafiei “stated that he was camping on the beach alone when he was confronted by a crowd of people who were playing volleyball and who rushed at him,” said the decision.
“He stated that he became defensive and yelled at them to back up. Mr. Shafiei acknowledged having a hammer, claiming that he was using it to set up a tent.”
He “denied running around the beach with a hammer chasing or attacking people,” said the decision.
“Mr. Shafiei acknowledged possessing what he believed was crystal methamphetamine. Mr. Shafiei advised that he had not consumed the drug when he was arrested and charged. He advised that the drug charge was later withdrawn.”
Shafiei said of the beach incident that “a large group of people suddenly confronted and surrounded (him), accusing him of attempting to break into a car; he maintains that he was the one under threat and that the narrative was inverted when the police were called.”
The Law Society heard from another lawyer last fall who had known Shafiei since 2022, said the decision. “She advised that sometime in 2024, his behaviour changed.”
Around October 2024, she’d seen Shafiei “lying on the ground in a park near his apartment building. Mr. Shafiei was ‘completely disoriented’ and ‘out of it,’” said the decision. “She saw a shattered glass drug pipe near him. She shook him awake, and he did not recognize her. He then walked home, wobbling.”
When the investigator went to Shafiei’s apartment last October “representatives of the building’s property management confirmed that eviction proceedings had been initiated against Mr. Shafiei.”
The landlord had obtained two eviction orders for Shafiei: one for “non-payment of rent. The second order was for substantial interference with the interests of the landlord concerning clutter and junk being stored in and around the parking area and damage and vandalism to the walls around the parking space.”
Shafiei asked for and was denied an adjournment at his second eviction hearing on Sept. 22, 2025, after he “alleged a medical diagnosis that would provide additional information” for the adjudicator.
“Specifically, Mr. Shafiei said that he has ongoing mental health issues, including depression and hoarding.”
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