Richard R. Kennedy

Richard R. Kennedy, LL.D., D. Jur. (born April 12, 1951) is a Canadian businessman. He currently is chief of staff and senior advisor for a private financial consulting firm based in Toronto that has a solid track record of providing corporate clients with financial solutions that gear them for optimal growth and expansion.

After completing his Doctor of Laws from Osgoode Hall in 1974, Kennedy embarked on a career in corporate finance. A member of the Jockey Club of Canada, he was a champion thoroughbred breeder, holding the 1987 Canadian Horse of the Year in partnership, and several other awards. His father was Roy A. Kennedy, a prominent breeder in Canada and Florida. Kennedy has been involved in numerous charitable boards throughout his life and was a significant donor.

In 2003, Kennedy was implicated by his former CFO (and close friend) Ron Bogart who had given an illegal tax write off in 1994 from a US subsidiary of Kennedy’s Canadian company to US tax payer Richard Schultz. By implicating Kennedy, Bogart, who acknowledged receiving the bribe, received a reduced sentence.

Kennedy fought the indictment for several years but was forced to end this pursuit in 2004 due to his failing health, and having spent some $2 million in legal fees (and losing all of his US assets), he pleaded out, despite it been only hearsay evidence against him by individuals seeking to reduce their own sentences. Kennedy was given 15 months in US detention, when he refused to testify against his former Canadian counsel, Brian Heller, despite Bogart’s assertions that Heller, abetted in the scheme.

While in detention Kennedy suffered a stroke. It was then discovered that Kennedy had been suffering from advanced brain cancer for a number of years. Recent findings now prove that Kennedy never received any monies from this fraud and that due to his illness, he did not have the capacity to properly defend himself. Twenty people in the US, Canada and the UK were charged and sentenced. Kennedy to this day maintains his innocence.

Since 2007, Rick Kennedy has been working as a corporate financial consultant, advising numerous clients with financing and expansion strategies.