Did Michael Buy Out His Undisclosed 50% Partner for $2,000,000?

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In December 2024, Michael filed a Petition in the Supreme Court of British Columbia against the other shareholder/director of Flying “L” Ranch Ltd., Peter van der Heyden. We have not been able to locate any instance of Michael publicly disclosing the existence of a 50% shareholder/director of Flying "L" Ranch Ltd. In his Petition Michael sought the court to order Peter to sell his 50% ownership shares in the Company to Michael and to transfer Peter's privately owned adjacent 80-acre parcel of land (DL199) to the Company, for a collective price of two million dollars ($2,000,000) to be paid by Michael.

The records strongly suggest that the principal ownership, control, and land transfer result Michael sought through his Petition was achieved: Peter no longer appears as a director, and DL199 is now registered to the Company. However, these do not, by themselves, definitively confirm whether, when, or how, Michael paid the $2,000,000 buyout price.

Michael’s own court materials confirm that Flying “L” Ranch Ltd. was not owned by Michael alone or by the Lares family. Michael’s Petition states that Michael and Peter were the sole shareholders and directors of the Company, each holding 50%. Michael’s affidavit also identifies Peter as a co-director and 50% shareholder, and says the Company purchased the Ranch in 2019. Peter's Response to Petition takes the position that Peter alone provided the full costs to acquire the Ranch.

The public records create a before-and-after picture. A September 9, 2022 title search shows Peter van der Heyden as the registered owner of DL199. A later title search dated April 27, 2026 shows DL199 registered to Flying “L” Ranch Ltd. A January 9, 2024 B.C. Company Summary, filed as Exhibit “A” to Michael’s affidavit, shows both Michael Lares and Peter van der Heyden as directors. A later March 2, 2026 B.C. Company Summary shows Michael Lares as the only listed director.

In light of Michael’s own Petition seeking a $2,000,000 court-ordered buyout of Peter's 50% shareholder interest and DL199, a reasonable reader could ask why a ranch publicly associated with repeated fundraising campaigns would also turn to the Court to pursue a transaction framed in Michael’s own court materials as a $2,000,000 buyout, while also incurring legal expenses associated with the Petition, the related application to disqualify his counsel, McQuarrie, and Michael's separate defamation action.

July 5, 2026