Profs ask police to launch criminal probe into ex-dean

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This article was published 21/12/2023 (666 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A group of academics, including law professors who worked under an ex-dean recently found guilty of professional misconduct for filing phony expenses to the University of Manitoba, is calling on police to launch a criminal investigation.

Jonathan Black-Branch, who oversaw Manitoba’s only law school from 2016 to 2020, was censured for repeatedly breaching his duty to act with integrity in a Dec. 15 decision issued by the legal profession’s watchdog.

The Law Society of Manitoba authorized a professional disciplinary charge against Black-Branch in 2021, one year after his mysterious departure from the U of M.

It was later revealed the lawyer-academic had been dismissed as a result of an internal audit that concluded he misused upwards of $600,000 in faculty and endowment funds.

“In light of the Winnipeg Police Service’s recently publicized initiative aimed at combatting shoplifting, we want to ensure this fraudulent behaviour on the part of Dr. Black-Branch is brought to the attention of (WPS),” states a Dec. 21 letter signed by five members of the law school.

“After all, Dr. Black-Branch’s misconduct was found to have resulted in financial losses amounting to at least hundreds of thousands of dollars, which of course vastly exceeds the loss suffered in a typical shoplifting case.”

The signatories include professors Jennifer Schulz and Michelle Gallant, assistant professors Brandon Trask and Leo Baskatawang, and Yvan Larocque, a clinical instructor of law.

In their letter, the authors flagged the professional disciplinary committee’s recent findings.

A three-person panel concluded Black-Branch used public funds “exclusively for his personal benefit,” and initiated a scheme to bypass internal controls that would have required a more senior employee approve his questionable expenses in a Dec. 15 decision published by the law society.

The trio, made up of two lawyers and a public representative, categorized the misconduct as “fraud.”

The ruling also noted the evidence in the case satisfied a “beyond a reasonable doubt” standard of proof required in criminal proceedings.

“It’s unprecedented in the history of Canadian legal education to have a dean stealing at this level, so hats off to the Manitoba law society for taking (the case) on,” Schulz said when reached by phone Thursday.

The law professor, who joined Robson Hall in 2004, attended a number of the public proceedings held at the society’s headquarters in downtown Winnipeg on Sept. 18, 20 and 21, and Nov. 21-23.

Black-Branch, who lives in the U.K., did not request to participate in any capacity. He repeatedly tried to delay the case, citing his mental health, and was initially successful in doing so.

The panel proceeded with the case after he continuously failed to provide proper documentation.

For Schulz, the most shocking revelation was “the sheer number of times that he lied to the university about having meals with esteemed Winnipeg lawyers.”

Black-Branch racked up hefty tabs at a ritzy social club in downtown Winnipeg and a restaurant in the Exchange District, and often claimed he was dining with others for university-related business.

Receipt codes indicating a single customer was served and testimony from three lawyers challenged his claims. One witness said she had never dined with Black-Branch at the Manitoba Club – which was contrary to 15 chits that were submitted with her name scribbled down as a guest on them.

The most egregious evidence indicated the lawyer bolstered his resume by taking U.S. Ivy League courses, paying rent during a fellowship abroad, and donating to an international organization he founded without disclosing his conflict of interest.

Winnipeg police did not immediately provide comment on the Thursday tip from academics at Robson Hall.

Last month, university administration indicated it was unsuccessful in its efforts to recuperate funds from the former senior manager and had no plans to take legal action against him.

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Administration confirmed this week that U of M has since contacted police.

Spokeswoman Myrrhanda Novak said in a statement Thursday that U of M welcomes the findings from the law society and is “engaging with (city police).”

“As a result, we are unable to comment further,” Novak said.

Black-Branch has not spoken publicly about the case. He has not responded to countless requests for comment dating back to spring 2020.

maggie.macintosh@freepress.mb.ca

Maggie Macintosh
Education reporter

Maggie Macintosh reports on education for the Free Press. Originally from Hamilton, Ont., she first reported for the Free Press in 2017. Read more about Maggie.

Funding for the Free Press education reporter comes from the Government of Canada through the Local Journalism Initiative.

Every piece of reporting Maggie produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press‘s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press’s history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates.