Charges laid against former Morton Dew, Cuddy Financial heads
Sally Pitt | CBC News | Posted: September 29, 2016 7:04 PM | Last Updated: September 29, 2016
Frank Dew and David Cudmore face dozens of fraud and theft charges
Charlottetown police have charged Frank Harrison Dew and David Hamilton Cudmore each with 26 counts of theft over $5,000 and 26 counts of fraud over $5,000.
Dew, 49, was owner of Morton Dew Limited, a financial services business in Charlottetown.
Cudmore, 56, was owner of Cuddy Financial Management Group, also in Charlottetown.
Police say Cudmore was also an employee of Morton Dew.
The criminal charges filed in Charlottetown Provincial Court list the names of 33 victims.
The crimes are alleged to have occurred between January 2011 and June 2015.
Their losses are in the millions - Detective Darren MacDougall, Charlottetown Police Services
"The victims were very unsophisticated in the management of finances," said Detective Darren MacDougall, Charlottetown Police Services.
"Their losses are in the millions."
The police investigation was extensive. It took 18 months and involved co-operation from several agencies, said MacDougall.
"There were a lot of moving parts," he told CBC. "There was such a volume of material to be collected."
Not licensed to trade in securities, insurance
Some clients laid complaints with police after learning that Morton Dew and Cuddy Financial were under investigation by the P.E.I. Department of Justice, said MacDougall.
Both men filed for bankruptcy in July 2015 after a judge ordered them to pay more than $300,000 to a former client who filed a lawsuit against them.
According to the Department of Justice and Public Safety, Dew, Cudmore and their two companies are not licensed to carry on the business of trading in securities or insurance.
An email from the department says after the criminal proceedings are complete, the department "will determine whether further regulatory action is required."
Dew and Cudmore are slated to appear in Charlottetown Provincial Court on October 27.
CBC was unable to reach either Dew or Cudmore for comment.
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