Cudmore, Dew face 104 charges

Police lay theft and fraud counts

A second man is now facing a slew of charges following an extensive 18-month investigation into a Charlottetown financial planning firm.

David Cudmore is facing 26 counts of theft over $5,000 and 26 counts of fraud under the Criminal Code of Canada.

Earlier this month, Charlottetown Police Services charged Frank Dew with 26 counts of theft over $5,000 and 26 counts of fraud. In total Charlottetown Police Services have laid 104 charges of fraud and theft against the two Island men.

Police began their investigation after a complaint was received from the Prince Edward Island Department of Justice and Public Safety alleging misconduct by the companies Morton Dew Ltd. and Cuddy Financial Management Group Ltd. that involved clients’ investment accounts. To date, there are 37 victims with a dollar value estimated to be in the millions, the police department says.

Dew was the owner of Charlottetown-based Morton Dew Ltd., which shut down in 2015.

Cudmore was a financial planner with Morton Dew.

The two men filed for bankruptcy in July 2015 before a P.E.I. Supreme Court judge ordered them to pay more than $317,000 to a former client.

Cudmore was also owner of Cuddy Financial Management Group Ltd. The provincial government suspended Cudmore and Dew’s licences to trade in securities or insurance around the same time as they filed for bankruptcy. P.E.I.’s Justice and Public Safety Department also launched investigations of both men and their companies under the Securities Act and the Insurance Act.

The men will appear in court Oct. 27 at 10 a.m. to enter pleas.