An American litigation funder is threatening to call in more than $100 million in alleged debt from Alberta separatist leader and lawyer Jeffrey Rath and his firm, Global News has learned.
asserted
News → threaten → Rath
Delaware-based Diriba Investments LLC alleges in court documents that Rath and his professional corporation, RathPC, defaulted two years ago on a financing agreement tied to First Nations and COVID-19 litigation cases — a debt the lender now says totals nearly $109 million, plus interest and costs.
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lender → base → million
Rath and his corporation now face pressure on two fronts.
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Rath → face → fronts
As Global News reported last month, two former First Nations clients have filed separate court actions seeking the return of tens of millions in disputed trust funds, and now an American creditor is pursuing a nine-figure claim against the firm’s legal proceeds and other assets.
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creditor → report → proceeds
“If you are a law firm, these are very, very serious matters,” said Roderick Wood, a University of Alberta law professor who is an expert in insolvency and bankruptcy law.
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who → say → insolvency
“If you have a secured party in a position where they are enforcing their claim, any debtor, not just a law firm, is really in a situation you would rather not be in.
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you → have → situation
It’s a very challenging situation.”
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It → ’ → ?
Rath declined to answer questions from Global News.
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Rath → decline → News
In addition to leading a successful legal firm, the Calgary lawyer has become one of the Alberta separatist movement’s most visible advocates in recent years, crisscrossing the province for town halls, travelling to Washington to meet with American officials, and appearing in national and international media.
But behind the scenes, his firm was pursuing cases bankrolled in part by litigation funding — an arrangement that has allegedly left the firm, and potentially the proceeds of some of Rath’s biggest cases, indebted to U.S. investors.
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that → lead → investors
It allows outside investors to pay a lawyer’s costs to pursue legal cases in exchange for a share of the compensation if the case is won.
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case → allow → compensation
In a 2018 agreement, Diriba and Western Springs Investments LP, another funder incorporated in Delaware, signed on to finance some of RathPC’s legal work.
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Diriba → incorporate → work
In return, the firm granted the funders security over a negotiated portion of its resulting fees and other compensation.
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firm → grant → fees
Western Springs appointed Diriba to act as agent for both funders.
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Springs → appoint → funders
Diriba alleges Rath’s firm breached the agreement by not submitting monthly reports, not keeping funders informed of material case developments, not reporting proceeds from covered cases, not responding to information requests, and not making required payments.
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firm → allege → payments
The funder also alleges Rath and RathPC failed to disclose that unnamed claimants had terminated their relationship with the firm.
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claimants → allege → firm
Documents show that in November 2024 the company demanded an accounting and payment of money it said it was owed, formally warning RathPC that it intended to pursue assets pledged under the financing agreement.
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it → show → agreement
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The alleged debt and contractual breaches have not been adjudicated.
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debt → get → news
Global News could not confirm which specific cases Diriba funded or how much capital was advanced.
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capital → confirm → cases
RathPC’s 2018 funding deal initially covered two unidentified cases, heavily redacted court documents show.
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documents → cover → cases
But a 2023 amendment expanded the scope to all of his firm’s existing and future claimant-side work, explicitly mentioning First Nations treaty claims and COVID-restriction litigation.
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amendment → expand → claims
Redactions obscure how Diriba arrived at the $108.8-million figure.
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Diriba → obscure → figure
Diriba’s Calgary-based lawyer, Kelsey Meyer, declined to answer specific questions.
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lawyer → base → questions
Questions to Burford Capital, a global litigation-finance giant closely affiliated with Diriba, also went unanswered.
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Questions → affiliate → Diriba
Paul Mysliwiec, who swore the affidavit as Diriba’s authorized representative, is Burford’s deputy general counsel.
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who → swear → representative
Funder: Rath’s firm an ‘insolvent person’
On July 21, 2026 — nearly two years after issuing its notice of default — Diriba demanded records from RathPC, including its financial statements, a list of all active lawsuit claims, and a full accounting of money recovered in those cases, court documents show.
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documents → issue → cases
Six days later, Diriba followed up with a formal demand letter and separately served RathPC with a notice of intention to enforce security under the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act, describing RathPC as an “insolvent person” and alleging the firm may be unable to pay its debts as they come due.
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they → follow → debts
Diriba also alleges that RathPC breached its financing agreement by granting a competing security interest to another company, Vance SPV LLC.
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RathPC → allege → company
Global traced Vance’s origins to Delaware, a popular destination for starting a company because it offers privacy – it does not require businesses to disclose their directors, shareholders, or executives.
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it → trace → directors
Vance was incorporated in May 2020 — exactly one month before the company registered a lien over all of Rath’s and RathPC’s current and future personal property, on top of the claim Diriba already held.
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Diriba → incorporate → claim
Court-filed financial records also show the company paid RathPC $13,682 in September 2024.
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company → file → September
Global News could not identify or contact Vance’s owners because of Delaware’s limited public disclosure requirements.
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News → identify → requirements
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Global News also could not determine why Diriba waited until July 2026 to begin formal enforcement of the default.
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Diriba → surround → default
Wood suggested funders sometimes hold off if they expect payments to start coming in.
“
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payments → suggest → ?
If there is a lot of potential revenue, they might be saying, ‘Okay, you’re in default … but we may not be moving in immediately because … there may be further revenue coming in, which would alleviate the situation’.”
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which → be → situation
But as Global News has previously reported, Rath has been under increasing pressure from two First Nations over financial misappropriations.
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Rath → report → misappropriations
According to court documents, Tallcree and Sturgeon Lake allege that RathPC misappropriated millions from their trusts, which held funds for beneficiaries who were minors, and which Rath’s firm administered after winning huge settlements for the bands.
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firm → accord → bands
They say they fought for years to receive financial statements that would have revealed those disputed withdrawals.
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that → say → withdrawals
…and 14 more, not listed.
