The former chief executive officer of private credit shop Bridging Finance Inc. will ask Ontario’s highest court to review a fresh ruling that upheld fraud findings against him.
David Sharpe “intends to seek leave to appeal to the Ontario Court of Appeal,” lawyer Alexandra Grishanova said in a statement Wednesday. A lower court “acknowledged a number of significant concerns” regarding conduct by the Ontario Securities Commission, she added.
Sharpe’s effort follows a ruling last week by the Ontario Divisional Court dismissing his challenge to a Capital Markets Tribunal decision that found he and other former Bridging executives committed fraud at the Toronto-based private lender before its collapse in 2021.
“We are pleased with the Ontario Divisional Court’s decision in this long‑running case,” Curtis Lindsay, an OSC spokesperson, said by email, declining to comment further on an active matter.
At its peak, Bridging managed more than C$2 billion ($1.5 billion) before PricewaterhouseCoopers Inc. was appointed as receiver in 2021. More than 26,000 investors are expected to recover less than half of their money, according to court filings.
Natasha Sharpe, David Sharpe’s wife and Bridging’s former chief investment officer, also appealed the tribunal’s decision. The court reduced her repayment of ill-gotten gains slightly after finding the tribunal shouldn’t have rounded the number up — though it also said an appeal wasn’t necessary to make the adjustment.
A lawyer for Natasha Sharpe declined to comment.
In October 2024, Ontario’s Capital Markets Tribunal ruled the Sharpes took undisclosed payments, misled investigators and engaged in fraudulent conduct. David Sharpe was fined C$3.6 million and permanently barred from trading, while Natasha Sharpe was fined nearly C$2 million. A third executive, Andrew Mushore, received a C$50,000 penalty.
David Sharpe did not participate in the securities regulator’s hearings after a motion to stay proceedings was denied. His lawyers have contended the regulator improperly disclosed compelled testimony and retroactively applied amendments to Ontario securities law that expanded the OSC’s powers. Lawyers made similar arguments as part of the appeal that was dismissed.
Grishanova said the case nonetheless raises “important issues concerning procedural fairness, compelled testimony, abuse of process, and the constitutional and natural justice protections owed to all respondents in OSC investigations and enforcement proceedings, regardless of the allegations they face.”
Written by: Paula Sambo and Melissa Shin @Bloomberg
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