Relief, reproach from law school staff after disgraced ex-dean’s arrest in France

The overseas arrest of a disgraced former law dean who defrauded the University of Manitoba out of more than $600,000 is being met both with relief and renewed frustration in the local legal community.

“It’s about time,” said Jennifer Schulz, a longtime professor at the U of M’s Robson Hall school of law. “But it’s a massive case of too little, too late.”

Jonathan Black-Branch was recently arrested in France and faces extradition to Canada on a fraud charge, the Winnipeg Police Service said.

“The matter is currently before the French court system,” WPS spokesperson Const. Stephen Spencer said in an email Wednesday. He declined to say when city police learned of the arrest.

“Further information will be provided should the extradition application be successful and Black-Branch be returned to Winnipeg.”

A Canada-wide arrest warrant was issued for his arrest on March 30 — about six years after his spending patterns were flagged at U of M.

Schulz taught at Robson Hall when Black-Branch oversaw the faculty — and unbeknownst to her, many of her colleagues and senior management at U of M, he was misappropriating public funds — between his arrival in 2016 and abrupt departure in 2020.

“It was very frustrating that the university really didn’t do anything for years,” she said.

Schulz said she called U of M leadership shortly after Black-Branch’s contract was cut short in 2020 to propose pursuing a “lis pendens” — a notice to alert potential property buyers of active legal proceedings or disputes involving a residence — against his Tuxedo property.

The legal department wasn’t interested in intervening in the then-active sale of his Winnipeg residence, she said, noting that Black-Branch sold the five-bedroom house for $779,900 and fled to the United Kingdom.

She said the university failed to act to recoup the stolen funds and didn’t support two staff members who raised concerns about his expenses.

Both a 2019-20 investigation at the U of M and 2024 professional disciplinary panel concluded Black-Branch misspent public dollars and schemed to evade oversight.

“It was very frustrating that the university really didn’t do anything for years.”

He was found to have submitted more than 200 questionable claims during the four years he spent at Manitoba’s largest post-secondary institution.

He spent about $500,000 in university funds to bolster his personal resumé via Ivy League post-degree courses. Black-Branch also repeatedly charged U of M for personal outings to the Manitoba Club and Across the Board Game Café, among other phony expenses.

The Law Society of Manitoba disbarred him in February 2024 following a public hearing into his misconduct.

Local lawyers and the original whistleblowers — the two support staff members whose names are being withheld from print to protect their confidentiality — submitted evidence.

In May 2025, the Manitoba Court of King’s Bench issued a default judgment requiring Black-Branch to repay his former employer $682,449.41, plus interest and the cost of proceedings that involved hiring a private investigator to locate him.

Black-Branch did not acknowledge or defend himself against the allegations filed in court the summer after he was disbarred. He did not participate in the earlier professional disciplinary hearings, either, citing his poor mental health.

Deirdre O’Reilly, communications officer at the Law Society of Manitoba, said the regulatory body will continue to follow the case and co-operate in the proceedings, if required.

In an email Wednesday, O’Reilly said the law society was pleased that the co-operation of international law enforcement led to the arrest.

“It’s a massive case of too little, too late.”

U of M administration issued a similar statement to express its gratitude for the work of international and local police agencies on the case.

A university spokesperson said the process to secure payment is ongoing, but could not provide further details, citing privacy legislation restrictions.

“How much of (Black-Branch’s expenses) did we approve? It’s not a big, clear fraud. There’s a lot of shades,” said Michelle Gallant, a law professor who studies white-collar financial crime at U of M.

The case prompted a series of changes to expense-management protocols at the university. Previously, deans could approve their own expenses, receive approvals from subordinates and accept invoices directly.

Gallant said she was surprised to learn about the arrest.

“I would be glad to hear his side of his story, because we didn’t hear his side of the story at the hearings, we didn’t hear his side of the story when he left,” she said.

Around the same time as the Canada-wide warrant was issued, a Swiss-German national newspaper published a story about an ex-dean of law from Canada racking up more than $170,000 in debt in Switzerland.

The report suggested the 64-year-old, a disbarred lawyer who lived in Lake Zurich after fleeing Canada, owed a Zurich art dealer approximately $60,000, as well as debt related to his BMW convertible and unpaid health insurance premiums.

Schulz contacted the journalist to find out why they’d withheld Black-Branch’s name from print.

“We didn’t hear his side of the story at the hearings, we didn’t hear his side of the story when he left.”

An email reply reviewed by the Free Press states the reporter was advised not to mention it because Black-Branch isn’t a public figure and “media and privacy laws are quite strict in Switzerland.”

Schulz said there’s been significant work required to repair damage to Robson Hall’s reputation, including making clear to the public that no academics knew about Black-Branch’s “egregious breach of trust.”

“It wouldn’t hurt for the University of Manitoba to say they regret hiring him and all the stress that decision has caused for support staff, in particular, and faculty and students,” she said, adding that at the same time, much of the damage cannot be undone.

— With files from Scott Billeck

maggie.macintosh@freepress.mb.ca