Neither brotherly love nor business world camaraderie was on display Tuesday afternoon, as David Reeve took to the witness stand at his sibling’s fraud trial.
Reeve spent about a decade working for his brother Daniel P. Reeve as a financial advisor.
In late 2007, he was made president of DPR Financial, a company belonging to and named after his brother.
At the time, he said in court Tuesday, Daniel P. Reeve claimed he wanted to focus on his other financial planning companies and investments.
However, David Reeve testified, the job carried little real authority.
“Daniel made all the decisions,” he said.
“I couldn’t look at the books. I couldn’t hire or fire anyone. I couldn’t even order paper-clips.”
Court heard that DPR Financial would soon run into monetary problems.
By the middle of 2008, they would have trouble paying their staff.
David Reeve said that he used $250,000 of his own money to cover salary and hydro costs, although eventually even his own paycheques were bouncing.
Clients were also starting to complain about late payments.
“My brother always smoothed things over, saying ‘We’re growing quickly’ or ‘I’m going through stuff with Cheryl,’” he said.
Reeve resigned as president on Oct. 1, 2008, and left DPR Financial entirely nine days later.
He and his wife then started their own financial company, from which they continued to sell Daniel P. Reeve’s products.
The following year, police began investigating Daniel P. Reeve. He was arrested in 2012, and has been in custody ever since.
Daniel P. Reeve is accused of bilking 41 investors out of about $10 million dollars. He has pleaded not guilty to fraud offences.
David Reeve’s testimony continues Wednesday.
After it concludes, the trial will take a lengthy break until the spring of 2016.
