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LONDON, ONT. \u2014 A hospital in southwestern Ontario is suing five of its former executives, alleging two of them were involved in a \u201ccalculated, multi-year campaign of deceit and theft\u201d involving improper procurements, while the others knew about the alleged fraud and failed to act.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The London Health Sciences Centre said in a press release Wednesday that police began investigating the hospital\u2019s past financial practices late last year, while it began its own forensic audit of its finances dating back to 2013.<\/p>\n
A statement of claim filed in court this week alleged former members of the hospital\u2019s executive team were involved in fraud relating to its procurement and construction contracting practices, including awarding contracts with inflated pricing to companies owned and operated by the hospital\u2019s then-vice president of facilities management.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis action arises from a prolonged, deliberate, and co-ordinated fraud orchestrated by the defendants to systematically defraud LHSC of tens of millions of dollars through deception, concealment, and the abuse of trusted positions,\u201d said the court document, which names former executives Dipesh Patel and Derek Lall.<\/p>\n
The statement of claim alleges Patel, the former vice president of facilities management, conspired with other defendants, including one described as his \u201cclose personal contact,\u201d to commit the fraud. The executive allegedly facilitated the award of multiple contracts to his contact\u2019s companies, the court document said.<\/p>\n
Patel abused his position by colluding with defendants to \u201ccircumvent procurement protocols, falsify documents, make off-record payments for no legitimate reason, inflate invoices, charge for work that was not performed, and create fictitious personas to conceal the true identities of the individuals behind the fraud,\u201d the statement of claim alleged.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe fraudulent scheme was a calculated, multi-year campaign of deceit and theft, deliberately engineered to misappropriate public funds for personal and unlawful gain,\u201d it said.<\/p>\n
Another statement of claim filed last month alleged three other executives, including the hospital\u2019s former CEO and president Jackie Schleifer Taylor, failed to act after learning of the fraud beginning in April 2022, following a report about an investigation into alleged workplace harassment.<\/p>\n
That investigation involved three witnesses who raised concerns about potential fraud in the hospital\u2019s procurement and construction contracting practices, the statement of claim said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Though they had \u201cfull knowledge\u201d of the report and its allegations, the executives failed to disclose the information to its auditors and board of directors, it said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Abhi Mukherjee, the hospital\u2019s former chief financial officer, and Bradley Campbell, another executive, are also named in that claim.<\/p>\n
None of the allegations have been tested in court.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The statements of claim did not list lawyers for the defendants and the court in London did not respond Thursday to inquiries about whether statements of defence have been filed.<\/p>\n
London Health Sciences Centre supervisor David Musyj said in a press release that the alleged fraud is \u201cnot a reflection of our team.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI recognize this is a deeply disappointing moment,\u201d he said, noting that staff involved in the alleged misconduct no longer work at the hospital.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cAs we look ahead, we are doing the work to make sure this never happens again.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u00a92025 The Canadian Press<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n