Trial starts for former Moncton executive accused of financial crimes

The trial of a former Moncton-area economic development executive on numerous charges related to financial crime began Tuesday.

Daniel Bard, 60, faces 19 charges, including possession of property obtained by crime, fraud, theft and money laundering in a case that's been going on for years.

Some of the allegations date to when Bard was vice-president of investment attraction for 3+ Corporation, a municipally funded business development agency for the Moncton region, between 2016 and 2018.

In 2019, CBC reported Bard was accused by several business owners and individuals of receiving hundreds of thousands of dollars in administrative and brokerage fees while working for the agency, but failing to deliver on promises and then vanishing.

Bard was arrested in northwest New Brunswick in 2022 as part of an investigation into what RCMP described as "financial irregularities amounting to more than a million dollars."

Eric Mourant, who was president and CEO of 3+ when Bard worked there, was the Crown's first witness.

Mourant said although Bard seemed to have several projects on the go at once, it wasn't always clear whether he was making progress.

When he pressed him for updates, Mourant testified that Bard told him he had signed non-disclosure agreements with prospective clients that prevented him from divulging any information about them.

"He shared very little information with me on all cases," Mourant said, adding that Bard would also get irritated and threaten to quit when pressed for details. 

"I felt uncomfortable about the whole situation."

Mourant said Bard didn't close any deals during the nearly 18 months he was employed at the agency. He said Bard would repeatedly say deals were imminent, but they never came through.

When asked by defence lawyer James Matheson whether it's common for deals in the investment field to take long periods of time, Mourant said it can take more than a year in some cases and that the ratio of success is "about five per cent."

No credit check, references

When asked about Bard's hiring process, Mourant said the company didn't get do a credit check or check Bard's references before he was hired.

He testified that Bard asked the hiring team that they not check his credit because he had spent a considerable amount of money helping his parents, who had fallen ill.

Mourant said he thought that was reasonable at the time.

When it came to providing references, Bard cited confidentiality concerns for his network of clients from his own restructuring and financing company, VM Venture Management, Mourant said.

When Matheson said the nature of the field demands a certain level of discretion for businesses thinking of relocating, Mourant agreed that was accurate.

Frederic Gionet, a former 3+ Corporation employee, also testified Tuesday.

Gionet said Bard told him he had worked with companies such as Ferrari, Hyundai and Caterpillar.

He said he couldn't confirm whether Bard's claims were exaggerated.

Then, in 2019, when he heard that Bard had been served with a civil lawsuit, he said he cut professional ties with him.

Brittni Bremner also testified and outlined her time as an employee at VM Venture Management. She said she didn't witness Bard close any deals or deliver results to clients. She left the company in 2019 because she didn't have enough work to do, she said.

The trial in front of provincial court Judge Anne Richard is set to run for six weeks.