A hospital in southwestern Ontario is suing five of its former executives, alleging two of them were involved in a "calculated, multi-year campaign of deceit and theft" involving improper procurements, while the others knew about the alleged fraud and failed to act.
The London Health Sciences Centre said in a press release Wednesday that police began investigating the hospital's past financial practices late last year, while it began its own forensic audit of its finances dating back to 2013.
A statement of claim filed in court this week alleged former members of the hospital's 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's then-vice president of facilities management.
"This 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," said the court document, which names former executives Dipesh Patel and Derek Lall.
The statement of claim alleges Patel, the former vice president of facilities management, conspired with other defendants, including one described as his "close personal contact," to commit the fraud. The executive allegedly facilitated the award of multiple contracts to his contact's companies, the court document said.
Patel abused his position by colluding with defendants to "circumvent 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," the statement of claim alleged.
"The fraudulent scheme was a calculated, multi-year campaign of deceit and theft, deliberately engineered to misappropriate public funds for personal and unlawful gain," it said.
Another statement of claim filed last month alleged three other executives, including the hospital's 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.
That investigation involved three witnesses who raised concerns about potential fraud in the hospital's procurement and construction contracting practices, the statement of claim said.
Though they had "full knowledge" of the report and its allegations, the executives failed to disclose the information to its auditors and board of directors, it said.
Abhi Mukherjee, the hospital's former chief financial officer, and Bradley Campbell, another executive, are also named in that claim.
None of the allegations have been tested in court.
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.
London Health Sciences Centre supervisor David Musyj said in a press release that the alleged fraud is "not a reflection of our team."
"I recognize this is a deeply disappointing moment," he said, noting that staff involved in the alleged misconduct no longer work at the hospital.
"As we look ahead, we are doing the work to make sure this never happens again."
This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 10, 2025.
Rianna Lim, The Canadian Press
