(July 9, 2025) By: London Free Press Newsroom, London Free Press<\/p>\n
London police, the provincial government and others weighed on the latest news to rock London Health Sciences Centre<\/em><\/p>\n London Health Sciences Centre filed civil lawsuits totalling $60 million against several former employees, other individuals and companies alleging a former executive orchestrated a \u201cfraudulent scheme\u201d that generated funds for him and other individuals to buy dozens of properties. The hospital claims it lost \u201ctens of millions\u201d of dollars between 2013 and 2024 in a statement of claim filed Wednesday. Here is the fallout of the latest body blow for LHSC:<\/p>\n What hospital visitors and one patient said<\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m a big believer of the court system . . . If people conspired, I hope they lose their sleep and their jobs. I don\u2019t have anything nice to say if they\u2019re taking advantage of it. It\u2019s not surprising and I hope it gets all sorted out.\u201d<\/p>\n \u2013 Nicky Mulligan, who was visiting a patient at LHSC<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s terrible. We give them our tax money to better our community but it\u2019s not happening. It\u2019s actually getting worse. It makes me feel stuck in a way.\u201d<\/p>\n \u2013 Emmanuel Fairweather, who was visiting a patient at LHSC<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s plausible and a big number (the lawsuit). It\u2019s important to get the word out about this. You should feel safe and be able to trust these people.\u201d<\/p>\n \u2013 Brendan Kelly, a patient leaving the hospital<\/p>\n Nursing union president weighs in<\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cRegistered nurses and health-care professionals, members of Ontario Nurses\u2019 Association (ONA 100), support the efforts of London Health Sciences Centre supervisor David Musyj to recover tens of millions in funds in an investigation of alleged fraud,\u201d Erin Ariss, president of the Ontario Nurses\u2019 Association, said in a written statement.<\/p>\n \u201cThe London community witnessed members of LHSC\u2019s previous senior management team, through years of scandal and controversy, treat its staff with disrespect, all while funds desperately needed for front-line care disappeared or were withheld,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n \u201cONA nurses and health-care professionals support Mr. Musyj in his actions to address this wrong and recover any hospital funds that were taken. It\u2019s time for more of our health-care dollars to be invested in safe levels of nurse staffing and front-line care, where it is needed most.\u201d<\/p>\n London police update LHSC fraud investigation<\/strong><\/p>\n LHSC announced in October 2024 that London police were launching a fraud investigation into the hospital\u2019s \u201cpast financial practices.\u201d<\/p>\n London police released a statement Wednesday from Chief Thai Truong:<\/p>\n \u201cLondon Police Service continues to actively investigate allegations of fraud involving London Health Sciences Centre. We fully recognize and appreciate the significant public interest in this matter, as it involves an important institution within our community.<\/p>\n \u201cOur financial crime unit is dedicated to conducting a thorough, fair, and meticulous investigation, understanding that complex financial crime cases often require substantial time and resources to reach completion.\u201d<\/p>\n Ontario\u2019s Health Minister\u2019s office weighs in<\/strong><\/p>\n Jackson Jacobs, a spokesperson for Ontario Health Minister Sylvia Jones, wouldn\u2019t comment on the LHSC lawsuits specifically but issued the following statement:<\/p>\n \u201cOur government expects every dollar invested into our health care system to go towards improving patient care.<\/p>\n \u201cIn response to serious concerns related to hospital governance, operations and financial practices identified by a third-party review, we appointed David Musyj as supervisor for London Health Sciences Centre (LHSC). In his role, Mr. Musyj has taken steps necessary to restore transparent, accountable governance and financial operations at LHSC, ensuring the hospital can continue to deliver high quality care in southwestern Ontario for years to come.<\/p>\n \u201cAs the matter involving past financial irregularities at LHSC is before the courts and remains under active police investigation, we cannot provide further details at this time.\u201d<\/p>\n Health-care advocate: \u2018Going to be hell to pay\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cI wish I could say I was more shocked and appalled \u2013 (but) the rumours were clear and present over the past six administrations . . . we had heard stories that couldn\u2019t be confirmed, by the Ontario Health Coalition and allies within the hospital setting,\u201d said Peter Bergmanis, co-director of the London branch of the Ontario Health Coalition.<\/p>\n \u201cI appreciate the police have to do their job and the (hospital) supervisor has to continue doing what he needs to do. The staff should not be left holding the bag for a deficit that could lead to countless cuts in staff because of underfunding and they are nowhere to blame for what is essentially a failing of governance and oversight,\u201d he said. \u201cPeople are sick and have to wait excessive time, suffering in hallway medicine, and this is going on in our hospital. There is going to be hell to pay here.\u201d<\/p>\n Putting the LHSC case into perspective<\/strong><\/p>\n There\u2019ve been a handful of alleged cases of fraud in Canada, both criminal and civil, against hospital executives in recent years. In Ontario, one of the more prominent files is a criminal case involving a decade-old, $300-million contract to redevelop St. Michael\u2019s hospital in Toronto. Both a former hospital executive and the chief executive of the construction firm initially awarded the contract face fraud charges for allegedly communicating in secret during procurement and hiding a previous relationship.<\/p>\n London MPPs silent<\/strong><\/p>\n None of London\u2019s four MPPs, including Municipal Affairs and Housing Minister Rob Flack, was commenting Wednesday when The Free Press sought reaction about the LHSC situation from their offices. Spokespersons for NDP MPPs Peggy Sattler (London West), Terence Kernaghan (London North Centre) and Teresa Armstrong (London-Fanshawe) said the three provincial politicians were not comfortable commenting on the issue, given the lawsuits filed.<\/p>\n The Free Press reached out for comment to the office of Flack, the Elgin-Middlesex-London Progressive Conservative MPP, but did not hear back.<\/p>\n How could LHSC use $60 million<\/strong><\/p>\n In a $91-billion Ontario health care system, and at a hospital with a budget of more than $1 billion, the $60 million sought by London Health Sciences Centre in two new lawsuits would be enough to cover about 40 per cent of the hospital\u2019s red ink. It would also cover about 4\u00bd years of total parking revenue at the giant hospital\u2019s London campuses, or allow it to go on a hiring spree for more than 700 novice nurses and a little more than 500 experienced nurses at the top of the wage grid.<\/p>\n LHSC LAWSUITS AT A GLANCE<\/strong><\/p>\n Who is named in $50-million lawsuit filed July 9:<\/p>\n *former LHSC employee<\/p>\n Who is named in the $10-million lawsuit filed June 13:<\/p>\n *former LHSC employee<\/p>\n The alleged fraud<\/strong><\/p>\n Between 2013 and 2024, the GBI group of three companies received more than $11.1 million from LHSC. Some of the work it billed for did not exist and invoices related to costs for annual salaries, management fees and labour, were \u201cinflated,\u201d the claim says<\/p>\n Between 2015 to 2024, BH Contractors, owned by the same person who owns the GBI companies, received $29.5 million from LHSC for general contractor services for window replacement. The billing was $10 million higher than independent estimates, the lawsuit says<\/p>\n The principals<\/strong><\/p>\n Dipesh Patel, vice-president of facilities management at LHSC, awarded contracts to companies owned by Paresh Soni, a friend of Patel\u2019s. Soni owns all the GBI companies and BH Contractors<\/p>\n Executives named in $10-million lawsuit filed June 13<\/strong><\/p>\n Jackie Schleifer Taylor, former chief executive, who was hired at LHSC in 2015 and named chief executive in 2021. Her employment ended in June 2024.<\/p>\n Abhijeet (Abhi) Mukherjee, who was hired in September 2022 as chief financial officer and fired in August 2024.<\/p>\n Brad Campbell, who was hired in July 2022 as corporate hospital administrative executive and fired in August 2024. Before being hired, Campbell worked for LHSC for six years as a consultant through Corpus Sanchez International Consultancy Inc.<\/p>\n The real estate<\/strong><\/p>\n The lawsuit filed July 9 includes a list of \u201csuspicious property holdings\u201d consisting of 98 properties in London and outside the city bought by people and companies named in the claim<\/p>\n Dipesh Patel has acquired 22 properties since 1998, some through numbered companies, valued at $9.4 million, the lawsuit says<\/p>\n Varsha Patel, Dipesh Patel\u2019s spouse, has acquired 11 properties valued at $4.2 million since 1996, the claim says<\/p>\n Soni has acquired 43 properties valued at $14.5 million since 2011, many owned by numbered Ontario companies, the lawsuit says<\/p>\n Click here for the original article<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" (July 9, 2025) By: London Free Press Newsroom, London Free Press London police, the provincial government and others weighed on the latest news to rock London Health Sciences Centre London Health Sciences Centre filed civil lawsuits totalling $60 million against several former employees, other individuals and companies alleging a former executive orchestrated a \u201cfraudulent scheme\u201d […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[21],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-30852","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-ohc-in-the-news"],"yoast_head":"\n\n
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