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(Bloomberg) — David and Natasha Sharpe, the husband-and-wife team found to have committed fraud at private lender Bridging Finance Inc., were fined and ordered by Canada’s top securities regulator to repay more than C$20 million ($14.6 million).
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David Sharpe, who was Bridging’s chief executive officer, was permanently banned from working or trading in the capital markets in Ontario, while Natasha Sharpe will be allowed to trade in some personal accounts if she meets the penalties and repayment obligations outlined in the decision by Ontario’s Capital Markets Tribunal.
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Bridging, a private lender based in Toronto, was ordered into receivership in 2021 amid a wide-ranging investigation into the firm’s activities. Last October, the tribunal ruled that the Sharpes committed fraud, took kickbacks on loans and tried to obstruct the investigation of regulators.
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Bridging had more than C$2 billion of assets under management when it went down, and investors are expected to recover less than half of that.
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Lawyers for the Ontario Securities Commission called the Bridging collapse “one of the most grievous cases to ever come before the Capital Markets Tribunal,” citing the large amount of money lost and the Sharpes’ efforts to mislead investigators.
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In addition to repaying money they should not have received, Natasha Sharpe was ordered to pay an administrative penalty of nearly C$2 million, while David Sharpe, who did not participate in the hearings, was ordered to pay C$3.6 million. Andrew Mushore, Bridging’s former chief compliance officer, received a lesser penalty of C$50,000 due to his indirect involvement in one aspect of the fraud.
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Lawyers for the Sharpes and Mushore did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
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—With assistance from Paula Sambo and Layan Odeh.
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English (US)