EcoLife’s David Murray not guilty on all 35 counts of fraud : r/CrimeInTheGta
Though the charges against Murray had been stayed due to the length of the court process, the contractor was acquitted Nov. 28 of defrauding clients of an estimated $800K, now cleared of the case that has dogged him since 2016
David Murray has been acquitted of all 35 charges of fraud over $5,000.
The Sudbury contractor and EcoLife owner has been embroiled in the courts since 2018, with the charges dating back to May 7, 2016, and continuing through March 28, 2019.
https://www.sudbury.com/court/timeline-trial-dates-still-not-confirmed-in-45-count-fraud-case-against-sudbury-contractor-3903818
Murray was accused of defrauding his customers of a police-estimated $800,000, but in an oral decision read in court Nov. 28, Justice Sharon Murphy found that rather than acting in a deceptive or manner, Murray was at the centre of a set of circumstances beyond his control, and happening all at once.
“Her honor used these words in her decision: ‘cascading effect’,” said Adam O’Brodovich in a phone interview with Sudbury.com.
“As you’ve heard throughout the trial, it was a storm around him and what it ultimately came down to, is that for the parts that mattered her Honor believed Mr. Murray,” he said. “She found him credible, that he was not attempting to deceive or defraud these people.”
A detailed written version of Murphy's 90-minute decision will be released soon, as early as next week, said O’Brodovich.
Sudbury.com spoke with Murray’s fifth lawyer on the file after the decision was read.
“The bottom line is not guilty of all charges, so all 35 counts are not guilty,”
The Crown will have 30 days to register an appeal of the decision, should they wish to, said O’Brodovich.
The allegations
In his cross-examination of Murray, assistant Crown attorney Mitchell Flagg detailed Murray’s existing criminal record as well as confirming that Murray did not hold client deposits, office expenses or employee wages in separate accounts.
But the crux of the Crown’s case were accusations that Murray’s did not complete contracts, did not offer refunds for unfinished work and even lost his license all due to the cancellation of a provincial grant he was then encouraging home owners to use: the GreenOn program.
GreenOn-based contracts despite the cancellation of the program. Flagg suggested to Murray he continued to sell the rebate as it would encourage people to invest more in the reno than they would normally.
Murray denied this, and every other suggestion Flagg made, consistently referring back to the GreenOn program cancellation.
“I’m a proud man, and I lost everything. I have to speak my truth. My hope was that at some time, the federal government would come back and fix this so no one would lose money,” Murray told the court at trial.
You can read more details of testimony here.
https://www.sudbury.com/court/crown-attorney-chips-away-at-accused-fraudster-david-murrays-story-11052372
Murray also agrees with “what most of the complainants say,” said O’Brodovich. This fact formed part of his submission in the case as well as a point in Murphy’s decision: that it’s the terms of the contract that were potentially misunderstood by the clients.
There was also nothing hidden from the court, including all banking records.
“I don't think that there was really much in the way of the banking records that anything turned on, I think ultimately it was not helpful to the Crown,” said O’Brodovich. “So her Honor, and I'll wait for her written judgment, but at least I did not hear her point to anything in the banking records that tilted this in the favor of some sort of fraudulent activity.”
Section 11b: The Jordan principle
That verdict also means that Murphy’s earlier decision on what’s known as a Section 11b application, one that saw all the charges against Murray stayed, is unnecessary.
Section 11b refers to the accused’s Charter right to trial in a reasonable time, and begins from the laying of the charge up to and including the date the sentence is imposed.
https://www.justice.gc.ca/eng/csj-sjc/rfc-dlc/ccrf-ccdl/check/art11b.html?utm_source=sudbury.com&utm_campaign=sudbury.com%3A%20outbound&utm_medium=referral
Unless waived by the accused or because of delays caused by defence actions, the Jordan ruling (named for the case law) established specific timelines; generally, 18 months for provincial court cases and 30 months for superior court cases.
After reviewing arguments from both Crown and defence, Murphy found that the delays, —largely by the court even though Murray changed lawyers five times—added a 21-day excess in the 18 months of allotted time for a provincial case to work its way through the courts.
You can find a full retelling of the 2025 trial and the stay of proceedings here.
https://www.sudbury.com/court/years-long-ecolife-fraud-trial-in-sudbury-ends-with-charges-stayed-11362659
However, the Crown appealed the ruling, and was set to continue that appeal after the judgment. The verdict was read as the trial had closed prior to the Section 11b decision.
But O’Brodovich told Sudbury.com that now that Murray has been acquitted, the Section 11 application is moot.
However, if the Crown does decide to appeal the decision, and they when, that application could still be advanced, said O’Brodovich.
David Murray: a free man
“He's very emotional, very, very excited,” said O’Brodovich of his client when Sudbury.com asked if they’d spoken since the verdict. “I just told him to take time and process it and enjoy, but he's very, very overwhelmed in the best way possible.”
O’Brodovich said he’s thrilled for his client as well.
“I'm very happy for him, because it's been going on for years and years,” he said of Murray. “And it's one thing to have your business lost, to have protests in the streets, to have criminal charges against you, but it's another to not be able to answer it,” he said. “And so to have him take the stand and explain that he does feel terrible for these people, he's been very upfront about that so he's not been antagonistic towards the complaints. That's never been his view. He's always felt terrible for what they've gone through.”
O’Brodovich is also happy his client’s name is finally cleared. “Mr. Murray, I think right now, is just going to sort of digest it, but he's not planning on going anywhere, as I understand it,” he said. He's still a member of the community and as far as I'm aware, he wants to stay a member of the community. I think it's great that this is out and clears his name.”
Jenny Lamothe covers court for Sudbury.com.
https://www.sudbury.com/court/ecolifes-david-murray-not-guilty-on-all-35-counts-of-fraud-11554666
