Discover the Real Story at Bridging Finance

The Fall of a “Whiz Kid”: Gary Ng’s Role in the Bridging Finance Scandal

In 2019, Gary Ng emerged on Bay Street as a bold and ambitious financial “whiz kid.” Known for his audacious claims, Ng painted himself as the future of Canadian finance. He told stories of becoming an “internet millionaire” at 16 and selling a Chinese glass factory for $150 million. By his late twenties, Ng acquired Chippingham Financial Group and later PI Financial, one of Canada’s largest investment firms, for $100 million in cash.

Ng presented himself as a financial genius, creating his “fleet” of independent firms and hoping to elevate his asset value to $50 billion. His bravado captivated financial media and investors, and he was hailed as Bay Street’s “succession plan.”

But now, there are major questions regarding Ng’s rise and those who enabled it after The Globe and Mail ran a scathing profile on Ng, labeling him “the ‘whiz kid’ who wasn’t.”

Even before the Bridging Finance scandal, government agencies were aware of cracks forming around Ng’s public persona. Chippingham Financial was on the verge of bankruptcy, and PI Financial was compelled to take up its troubled business and restore it to health as part of the terms of Ng’s acquisition.

Ng’s involvement with Bridging Finance marked a turning point. He put forward the proposition that he would buy a 50% stake in the company for $50 million in 2019. Instead of using his own money, Ng took investor money from Bridging Finance to spearhead the acquisition. The Ontario Securities Commission (OSC) later accused Bridging founders David and Natasha Sharpe of facilitating the transaction by approving questionable loans to Ng’s companies.

Things began to unravel when PI Financial’s general counsel, Richard Thomas, discovered allegedly falsified investment accounts. Ng had allegedly secured $172 million in loans using fake collateral, creating fictitious accounts, and inflating their balances to maintain his empire.

By early 2020, the truth came out. The Sharpes confronted Ng, recording his admissions of fraud. While they sought to distance themselves from Ng, regulators started to scrutinize their role in the scandal as well. According to court documents, Ng testified that he gave enormous bribes to the Sharpes, including $500,000 in cash for each, alongside gifts including watches and jewelry.

Gary Ng’s rise and fall serve as a cautionary tale of ambition unchecked by integrity. As the investigation unfolds, questions surrounding the extent of Bridging Finance’s involvement in fraudulent activities and the complicity of its top executives including David & Natasha Sharpe continue to linger. Shareholders, stakeholders, and borrowers alike are left grappling with the repercussions of this scandal, as the full impact of the company’s financial failures becomes known.

According to a separate report by The Globe and Mail, David Sharpe “profanity-laden, insulting and threatening” text messages in an attempt to silence witnesses who might testify against him in hearings and tribunals.

The wrongdoing involving Bridging Finance and its founders, David and Natasha Sharpe, has far-reaching implications, sending shockwaves through the industry and prompting a comprehensive re-evaluation of existing safeguards and protocols.