Crown alludes to alleged victim from France possibly withdrawing from Moncton fraud trial
CBC
Crown prosecutors in Daniel Bard's financial crimes trial talked Wednesday about the possibility of an alleged victim withdrawing his allegations against Bard.
Crown lawyer Christopher Ryan spent most of the day asking forensic accountant Roberta Sullivan how the findings in her report that traced Bard's bank accounts might change if Philippe Herbette were removed as a complainant in the case.
Herbette, who owns a large chain of gyms in France called Fitness Park, has yet to testify in the trial. The Crown did not confirm that Herbette has been removed as a complainant.
"We're still making attempts to have him testify,” Ryan told Judge Anne Richard on Wednesday afternoon in Moncton provincial court.
Bard is on trial on 19 alleged financial crimes, including fraud, theft and money laundering.
Business owners in a variety of New Brunswick locations have accused him of taking thousands of dollars from them, not delivering on promises and halted communication with them.
Some of the allegations date back to a time when Bard worked for an economic development agency in Moncton called 3+ Corporation.
Herbette is the only alleged victim from outside New Brunswick, and Sullivan's accounting report showed he paid Bard the biggest sum of money of any of the complainants.
SASU PHGC is named in two of the charges originally laid against Bard in 2022. Documents sent to CBC News by the court state Herbette operates SASU PHGC.
The charges allege Bard defrauded and stole from Herbette's company between January 2016 and December 2020.
The Crown previously filed an motion to have a publication ban placed on any information that would identify Herbette or his business.
During a hearing on the matter in 2025, Herbette said he feared it would impact his business and reputation. Richard denied the motion on April 24, 2025.
Sullivan, who is a certified fraud investigator, began her testimony Tuesday, laying out how she traced activities in 20 bank accounts belonging to Bard and his company, VM Ventures Management.
About $1.1 million worth of alleged victim funds came into those accounts between 2015 and 2021, she said. She told the court Bard used some of that money to pay a law firm, former employees, his ex-fiancée, motorcycle dealerships and others.
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