France to decide next month on extradition of ex-Manitoba law dean in fraud case

WINNIPEG — A former law dean at the University of Manitoba wanted on a fraud charge is expected to learn next month if he will be extradited from France.

A court document says Jonathan Black-Branch was in the Investigating Chamber of the Versailles Court of Appeal today opposing his extradition.

The court reserved its decision to Nov. 6.

Black-Branch was arrested in a municipality west of Paris in April, after a Canada-wide arrest warrant was issued for fraud over $5,000.

The disbarred lawyer is accused of misusing more than $600,000 from the university to pay his bills, buy pricey meals at a members-only club and spend on his education at Ivy League schools.

Black-Branch was hired as the Winnipeg university’s law dean in 2016 but suddenly left the post in 2020 and moved to Europe.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 16, 2026.

Brittany Hobson, The Canadian Press