Court opens bankruptcy door for former Nygard companies

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This article was published 23/03/2022 (965 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

In the latest blow against disgraced fashion mogul Peter Nygard, a Manitoba Court of Queen’s Bench justice has ruled the receiver in control of multiple Nygard companies can file for bankruptcy on their behalf.

The Richter Advisory Group Inc. has been the receiver of nine Nygard companies since March 2020.

Nygard, who launched and grew a multimillion-dollar fashion empire in Winnipeg, was arrested in 2020 under the Extradition Act, following nine sex-related charges filed in New York.

American authorities allege the now-80-year-old lured women and girls using his position in the industry.

He was also charged in Toronto last fall with six counts of sexual assault and three counts of forcible confinement in alleged incidents dating to the 1980s through the mid-2000s. This week, Federal Justice Minister David Lametti said he issued an order to allow extradition to the U.S., once the Canadian criminal case has run its course.

Manitoba Prosecutions did not proceed with charges following a 2020 Winnipeg Police Service investigation into complaints from eight women, which included sexual assault, the Free Press reported last year.

Nygard has repeatedly denied all allegations of sexual abuse.

American secured creditor White Oak Commercial Finance LLC filed the application to the Court of Queen’s Bench.

White Oak was owed debt by the Nygard Group of companies, which past court filings indicate was repaid. The group was reportedly close to $50 million in debt to numerous creditors.

On March 10, Court of Queen’s Bench Justice James Edmond issued his decision: granting an order declaring the Nygard companies to be jointly liable for each other’s debts and liabilities, and the assets and liabilities to be consolidated to address creditors’ debts.

He also ordered Richter is authorized to file assignments in bankruptcy — when a debtor voluntarily assigns all its property to a licensed insolvency trustee so it can be sold or used to pay a debt — on behalf of seven of the nine Nygard companies.

Edmond ordered the receiver can apply for a bankruptcy order for the two other Nygard companies: Nygard Properties Ltd. and Nygard Enterprises Ltd.

erik.pindera@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @erik_pindera